Fabuloso Festival

Fabuloso returned to Brighton this weekend in a two day extravaganza, partaking in the city's Pride celebrations.

The event kicked off with the annual pride parade, which streamed through iconic Brighton landmarks before halting at Preston Park where all the musical action took place.

Sophie Ellis Bexter dazzled the stage in a metallic party dress before jumping into her exciting setlist. Bexter performed a cover of iconic hits, opening her setlist with ‘Crying at the Discoteque’.

“It sounds like ABBA on crack” joked Bexter before jumping into a mash up featuring ‘Can’t Fight This Feeling’, ‘Gimmie! Gimmie! Gimmie!’ and ‘Groovejet’.
Bringing the atmosphere and energy up a notch, Bexter performed the iconic ‘Murder on the Dancefloor’ before bidding the crowd farewell.

Performer Billy Porter hyped up the crowd with his antics. Performing ‘Children’ while also giving the crowd an insight into his new album ‘Black Mona Lisa’.

Headlining Saturday, Girls Aloud performed a showstopper. Decked out in golden costumes with shoulder pads and thigh-high boots, the girl band performed familiar hits like ‘Love Machine’, ‘Sound of the Underground’ and ‘The Promise’.

The act included some surprises, like the debut of band member Cheryl’s bubblegum pink hair as well as an electric performance of ‘Watch Me Go’ (not performed since 2005).

In true Pride style, the band covered Madonnas ‘Material Girl’ as well an emotional tribute to late member Sarah Harding.

Overall, Girls Aloud gave audience members a perfect blend of nostalgia, celebration and heartfelt tributes; as put by the star Cheryl, “This community has been by our side since day one”.

Sunday’s performances were equally impressive with singer Gabrielle making a grand return with soulful hits like ‘Sunshine’, ‘Rise’ and ‘Dreams’. The messages of hope and empowerment shone through their performance.

Björn Again came through with the ABBA classics: ‘Super Trooper’ and ‘Dancing Queen’, while they engaged and joked with the crowd.
S club 7, who donned tie-dye rainbow costumes, took audiences on a journey back to the nineties and noughties with energetic hits like ‘Don’t Stop Moving’, ‘Bring It All Back’ and ‘Reach’.

Headlining sunday night, singer Mika delivered an uplifting and joyful set which included ‘Big Girls You Are Beautiful’, ‘Grace Kelly’, ‘Happy Ending’ and ‘We are Golden’.

“The common denominator between us all is love”, said Mika before rolling into the song ‘Origin of Love’.

In a funny fan moment, Mika jumped off the stage and borrowed fan’s hairbands; making Preston Park feel intimate.

Mika’s performance concluded with a spectacular fireworks display as he sang ‘Love Today’. His performance encapsulated the weekend and reinforced the theme of love, community and acceptance which shone over the city of Brighton this weekend.