Brighton Pride party continues at Preston Park as Christina Aguilera takes to the stage

9:30pm

Pop princess Christina Aguilera has wowed the crowds at Brighton Pride - kicking off her performance with her iconic hit 'Dirty.'

The American singer songwriter took to the stage at Preston Park for the city's 'We are Fabuloso event',

9:00pm

Drag Queen Lola Lasagne addresses crowds at Brighton's Preston Park.

Drag Queen Lola Lasagne has taken to the stage to warm the crowds up as they wait for pop princess Christina Aguilera.

Speaking to thousands of party-goers, she said "Right now in the world our rights are being threatened.

"The images from today will be shown across the world, and there ill be people who see them, who say 'I deserve to be here.'

"That is what Pride is about."

8:30pm

Ella Henderson has performed to cheering crowds on the main stage at 'We are Fabuloso' at Brighton's Preston Park.

Thousands of party-goers are now waiting for headliner Christina Aguilera to take to the stage.

The pop princess has flown in from the US to perform for the 30th anniversary of Brighton Pride.

Crowds pack out Preston Park to watch Ella Henderson perform
Ella Henderson takes to the stage at Brighton's Preston Park

Crowds have gathered at Preston Park for the 'We are Fabuloso' event.

Ella Henderson will be performing on Saturday before Christina Aguilera headlines the event.

Emergency services from across the south are at the event to make sure it runs smoothly.

St John's Ambulance Service Sussex team took to Twitter to let festival-goers they'll be supporting on site.

5:30pm

Timelapse footage captures the huge crowds gathered along the seafront to celebrate 30 years of Brighton Pride.

3:30pm

Brighton and Hove Pride has confirmed that Saturday tickets for the 'We are Fabuloso' event at Preston Park have now sold out.

Christine Aguilera is due to take to the stage as the headliner for tonight's event.

On Sunday Paloma Faith will perform for crowds.

Organisers have posted on Twitter that tickets for Sunday's event are still available.

3:00pm

Members of Disability Pride were at today's celebrations. Couple Gary and Joe

Joe said: "Everyone in the LGBTQ+ community just wants love and acceptance and equality and to be allowed to be themselves.

"We just want to share that message that 'Love wins.'

1:30pm

The parade arrived at its final location, Preston Park with thousands of people lining the streets through the city centre.

12:30pm

Thousands of people have lined the seafront to watch the Community Parade.

The theme for this year is ‘Love, Protest & Unity’.

Thousands of people line the seafront to watch the parade.

11:00am

A special bus is taking part in the Community Parade as a tribute to the 'oldest gay in the village' George Montague, who died earlier this year.

The gay rights campaigner from Brighton died in March aged 98. He was a regular face at Brighton Pride.

Today the bus will take part in the Pride parade from Hove Lawns, travelling through the city to Preston Park.

Somchai Phukkhlai pictured in front of the bus.

Speaking to ITV Meridian Somchai Phukkhlai said, "I miss him so much that he's not here today.

"He used to say he was amazed every year that Brighton Pride is still one of the best in the country."

10:00am

Organisers are warning those attending Pride to make sure they stay safe in the hot weather.

Temperatures are expected to hit 22 degrees in Brighton, with a fresh sea breeze.

09:00am

Thousands of people have started arriving in Brighton for the first day of Brighton Pride 2022.

The event which takes place across the city has returned this year for the first time since before the pandemic.

300,000 people are expected to descend on the city and an an influx of festival-goers have been arriving at Brighton Station early this morning ready for the festivities.

  • These festival-goers have told ITV Meridian what they're most looking forward to at Brighton Pride

People travelling into the city by train have been warned to allow extra time for their journeys.

Govia Thameslink Railway is introducing extra carriages and more services to help people getting in and out of the city.

Currently GTR and South Western Railway services are reporting no delays on their services into Brighton.

People are also able to take advantage of the 'Rainbow queuing system' in place outside the station to ensure they are on the right services.

Extra marshals are in place outside Brighton Station to help Pride festival-goers.

Two Drag Queens will also be helping to keep railway passengers safe this weekend. Stephen Richards and Jason Sutton also known as Lola Lasagne and Miss Jason have been enlisted GTR, and will be making announcements over the loud speaker system to get people on and off trains and safely off the platforms.

Road closures are already in place across the city and people are urged to use public transport where possible instead of their cars.

Dozens of roads across the city are closed for the Community Parade.

A large security operation will be in place across the city over the weekend with armed and patrol uniform and plain-clothed police in place.

Drone operatives and specialist teams searching for drugs will be out and about across the city as well as those engaging with the community.

West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service will also be on hand and have taken along their special 'Pride' fire engine.