City-centre traders set Saturday 5 December for a free festive afternoon

Brighton’s city-centre businesses will hold a free Festive Afternoon on Saturday 5 December, from 2pm to 6pm, across North Laine, the Lanes, East Street and Western Road. It is organised by Brilliant Brighton¹, the business improvement district (BID) for the city centre, and falls on Small Business Saturday.

Choirs, singers and a brass band will pop up in the shopping streets through the afternoon. The named performers are Some Voices, Free Brighton Choir, SHE Choir, South Coast Trombone Choir, Hit The Silk and Jessica Hallam. Helpers will hand out goodies along the way.

The Christmas lights over those streets go up from mid-November. The 500-plus businesses that make up the BID pay for them, and this year Costa Coffee is supporting them too.

The Festive Afternoon also starts this year’s Christmas window dressing competition. Businesses across the city centre dress their windows and the public votes for a favourite, from 5 December to Sunday 3 January. One voter and the winning business each get a £100 Brilliant Brighton Gift Card, which can be spent at more than 60 Brilliant Brighton businesses.