Brighton Pride
Parade 2026

Brighton Pride 2026 will take place on the 1st of August, 2026. In Brighton.

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BSS welcome their members to sign up to take part in the parada, as well as guests who want to join us.

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Expected time table (final times to be shared):

• 8:00 - 8:30am; arrival at Hove Lawns (exact spot tbd)

• 8:30 - 10:00am; tuning of drums, setting up sound system and final preparations

• 10:00-10:30am; warm up and sound check

• 11:00; start of the parade

• 1:00-2:00pm; finish of the parade

• 2:00pm-3:00pm; rest, take down of float and pictures

• 3:00pm-8:00pm; free time, often spent together having some food&drinks

• 8:00pm-????; Renegade Samba (open party) at New Road

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Important information for Bateria:
All bateria are expected to join (several) rehearsals before Pride (depending on travel).
Final rehearsal is mandatory for all those wanting to join Pride (for those within reasonable travel distance). This rehearsal will be on Sunday 26th of July, during the day in Brighton/Hove (exact time&location tbd)
Spaces for bateria are limited per instrument. This is to ensure a good balance of the sound. The online shop reflects the open spaces per instrument. If there is no more space available, you are always welcome to pick a different instrument or contact one of our directors to discuss.
It is expected of all bateria members to prepare for Pride by practising the BSS material. This can be found on the BSS Website, by logging in (details will be provided after registering). And of course at rehearsals (every Sunday evening in Brighton)
Tamborim players are required to play carreteiro comfortably. They are also expected to learn the desenhos (lines) for our 3 songs this year. All desenhos can be found on the members only part of our website.

Drums can be provided by BSS. These can be signed out at the final rehearsal.

Bateria players will be wearing white trousers (no skirts, shorts, etc), BSS bateria shirt (you can buy or loan one), white shoes and gold sequined hat.
If you have any questions or for any alternative arrangements, please reach out to either Malcolm or Willem
 

Repetoire

This year, BSS is dedicating the season to playing in the style of the Mocidade samba school. This will be the default when playing during the parade.

Please keep this in mind especially for Surdos & Caixas, but it also influences our patterns for the chocalho, agogo and tamborim. If you are unsure about the base groove of your instrument, do feel free to reach out to us and we are happy to share what we've been doing. Or you can of course pick it up on the day.

 

During the parade, we will focus predominantly on playing our 3 songs for this season.

1. O Quinto Imperio

O Quinto Imperio is the enredo from Mocidade from 2008. This song is about how Brazil was prophesised as a utopian Portuguese fifth empire and how this became a symbol of hope justice and faith.

A runthrough of the song can be found here: 

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2. Pede Caju

Pede Caju is the enredo from Mocidade from 2024. A well known banger which has become very popular since, this song is full of references and slang to tropical fruits and the power of the youth.

 

3. Vai Brilhar

This song is BSS's own. The lyrics and music were written by BSS members and arranged by our very own Malcolm. Vai Brilhar has been a staple in our repertoire for so many years now. This song is about how the samba travelled from Brazil to Brighton and has found a place to stay.

You can find a playthrough of the song here:

 

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(Note, this song is not in the Mocidade style!)

 

4. Bateria show  

In between songs we can play parts of our bateria show. This mainly consists of our groove with some additional breaks, outside of the songs. 

When preparing for the parade, please focus mostly on the songs, but if you want to you can of course also prep these breaks.

Videos of pretty much all our 2026 material can be found here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-SrDZUIDRubSca1NqfryAzZLMHyk0gLa&si=hKvNCmvgkfY8IayG 

Important information for Dancers:

The dance uniforms and Ala's will be set prior to the parade. Generally, we have ala's consisting of BSS members, performing the BSS routines, as well as a guest-ala where guest dancers have the freedom to express.​

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Winnie & Alysia will contact all dancers who have signed up to align on costumes, placing, etc.

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