Brighton Pride Festival
Alliance were proud to support Pride on the Park at Preston Park, Brighton, on 1–2 August 2026, deploying 150 staff across a range of security responsibilities.
The event brought together the LGBTQ+ community, allies, and festivalgoers for two days of music, entertainment, and celebration. With multiple bars, food vendors, and fairground rides across the site, Preston Park offered a lively and welcoming festival atmosphere.
The site had an attendance of 57,000 people on Saturday and 30,000 on Sunday. With such large crowds expected, Alliance's focus was on keeping searches and entry points running smoothly, managing the movement of attendees, and providing a friendly and approachable security presence.
Our teams balanced their security responsibilities with customer service, helping people feel comfortable, respected, and confident in approaching staff for assistance.
Our Role:
Alliance's responsibilities included customer search lanes, enhanced searches, canine drug detection, access gate management, incident response, ejections, and supporting the safe departure of attendees. Roaming external security teams also monitored the surrounding areas, identifying potential concerns and responding to incidents where needed.
A dedicated Security Manager, Controller, and Manager helped oversee the operation, coordinating staff and maintaining communication across the event. Their roles were particularly important in managing the flow of attendees through search areas and entry points.
Alongside maintaining effective security checks and preventing prohibited items from entering the site, our teams worked to keep queues moving and provide a positive experience for attendees. This balance between security and customer service remained an important part of Alliance's role across the event.
Care and Communication in Practice:
One welfare incident outside the event perimeter highlighted the importance of taking a different approach when dealing with challenging situations.
Response Supervisor Robert Patrick was first to identify and speak with an intoxicated attendee who had become aggressive towards male staff attempting to check on his welfare. Recognising that the individual needed assistance, Robert helped coordinate the team's response.
A female member of the Alliance team then stepped in and sat beside the attendee, speaking calmly and giving him time to become more comfortable. Although he was initially hostile, her patience helped build trust, and he gradually became more receptive to assistance.
While awaiting medical support, the attendee attempted to stand but fell into a bush and became unresponsive. The colleague quickly helped move him clear, allowing the medical team to assess him before taking him to the medical tent for further observations.
Later, as the site was being cleared, the welfare team requested further assistance after struggling to communicate with the same attendee. The colleague returned and, using the trust she had built earlier, was able to help him leave cooperatively.
Our values in action:
The incident was a strong example of Alliance's Safety First, People-Centred, and Care with Purpose values. Robert's judgement in recognising the attendee's need for assistance, together with his colleague's patience and calm approach, helped ensure the individual received the care and support he needed.
Both deserve recognition for their professionalism and commitment to the attendee's welfare, alongside the wider Alliance, medical, and welfare teams who worked together to manage the situation.
Their actions showed that good security is not just about managing crowds and responding to incidents, but also knowing when someone needs help and taking the time to provide it.
Learning for Future Events
The incident reinforced the importance of patience, clear communication, and knowing when a different approach may be needed. It also showed the value of working closely with medical and welfare teams, particularly when someone has already built trust with an individual who needs further support.
Preparation played an important role in the team's ability to respond. Pre-event briefings covered the wider Pride celebrations, including the parade and an event on the beach, helping staff prepare for large crowds and potential welfare concerns. Existing conflict management and de-escalation training also helped staff deal with challenging situations calmly and professionally.
These experiences will continue to inform future briefings and event planning, with an emphasis on good communication, teamwork, and putting people's welfare first.
Pride on the Park was another rewarding weekend for Alliance, bringing together professional security delivery, strong teamwork, and a genuine commitment to looking after people. A huge thank you to everyone involved for their hard work and dedication, and to the medical, welfare, and event teams who worked alongside us.
