Hastings Pride 2026

Hastings Pride is the town's LGBTQ+ festival on the East Sussex coast. A volunteer team from the town runs it, and it takes place once a year in late summer, usually in August. The heart of the day is The Oval, a green space in the centre a short walk from the seafront and the Old Town, and easy to reach from the station. The site has a main stage, stalls from community groups and local organisations, activities for families, and food and drink. The parade gathers at the festival site, and the organisers publish the route through their own channels each time.

Entry is free, and that is a deliberate choice: the organisers do not want anyone excluded because of money. The festival is funded through donations, crowdfunding, a small Pride shop and support from local partners, among them Hastings Borough Council. The result feels grounded and clearly owned by the town.

Trans Pride Hastings is a separate event. It was founded by Victoria Oldman and Zed Gregory, who met at a vigil for Brianna Ghey, the trans teenager who was murdered. At its launch the trans flag flew outside Hastings Town Hall for the first time. Trans Pride Hastings is held in July and spreads across Hastings, St Leonards and Bexhill. It has settled into a weekend format. On the first day local shops and cafés welcome trans and non-binary people with small offers, and the second day is a festival in the grounds of Hastings Museum and Art Gallery. Earlier editions also included film screenings, parties, a beach picnic and a group trip to Trans Pride in Brighton.

If you want to see both, that means one visit in July and another in August. Brighton, with its much larger Pride, lies further west along the same coast.