Brighton's Burning the Clocks parade to take year off

The annual Burning the Clocks parade in Brighton will not be held this year, organisers have announced.

The event, which celebrates the winter solstice, is to take a fallow year before returning in 2026.

Same Sky, the creators of the event, said it would allow the organisation to focus on future planning while running its national event's programme.

"It was a tough but necessary decision," Jane McMorrow, Same Sky's interim chief executive, said.

She said the decision was made to ensure focus on its resources and to allow time to "strategically review and secure the long term future for Same Sky".

"We're a small but powerful charity that has connected communities through shared art projects since we began in 1987, but in recent years, alongside many other small arts charities, we've faced immense funding challenges."

The cost to stage large scale community events like Burning the Clocks have soared in recent years, with an expenditure increase of 44% since 2019 and 2024's costs' exceeding £50,000, the company said.

The 2026 effigy has been commissioned with the theme 'Magicada', representing a symbolic rest followed by a noisy awakening.

The large lantern sculpture will be displayed publicly this year in Brighton on 21 December 2025.

Follow BBC Sussex on Facebook, X, and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected] or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.