Diana Ross dedicated a "special song for you" to the crowd and sang "always be you" as she headlined Brighton and Hove Pride on Sunday. The US superstar had the audience singing and dancing along to hits including Upside Down, Baby Love, Chain Reaction, Ain’t No Mountain High Enough and Stop! In the Name Of Love in her closing headline act.
The 82-year-old also dedicated a song "written for you", asking the audience to listen to the lyrics: "Joy joy joy freedom, always be you." She wore several glamorous outfits during the set: a silver glittery gown with white feathers, a red glittery dress with red ruffles, and finally a neon yellow raincoat over black trousers and top. Throughout the set, backed by a band and supporting vocals, videos spanning her decades-long career played in the background.
Five open the Sunday show
Earlier in the evening, reunited boy band Five took to the stage as the screen read "Five bad boys" and opened with their 1998 hit Everybody Get Up. The British group brought dance moves in their first Brighton and Hove Pride performance and called the event’s 35 years "amazing".
The Sunday evening sets closed Brighton and Hove Pride’s weekend, which marked the 35th anniversary under the theme "the power of love". The first Brighton Pride march took place in July 1973, organised by the Sussex Gay Liberation Front, but organisers have said only a small part of the community felt safe enough to take part. Pride did not return to the seaside city until 1991.
Tribute to early activists
For the milestone year, Brighton and Hove Pride moved to honour early activists and "remember the courage it took to be visible". Some 300,000 people were expected to take part in or watch the community parade on Saturday, while up to 450,000 people were estimated to turn out city-wide for Pride.
Speaking ahead of the weekend, managing director Paul Kemp paid tribute to Diana Ross as "iconic" and said that alongside Saturday headliner Raye the line-up was "spanning a generation of divas".
"You can’t get much more iconic than Diana Ross," Mr Kemp said. "Diana Ross supported the LGBT community during the Aids crisis, the famous story about Nile Rodgers and the song I’m Coming Out, how he wrote that song. So it really bookmarks the 35th anniversary really well."
