The 20th annual Brighton Naked Bike Ride, which was due to happen in the English seaside resort next month, has been postponed because a far-right rally organised for the same day.
A counter-protest has also been organised for Saturday 13 June, in the form of the Carnival Against Fascism, which progressives are promoting as a day of creativity, where “everyone feels welcome and it’s a joy to take part”.
One of many World Naked Bike Rides that take place around the planet, from Portland to London, the Brighton event has happened every year since 2006 (except 2020, because of Covid), and is part of a global movement that uses pedal power to protest against car culture and nudity as a metaphor to demonstrate the vulnerability of bike riders on the roads, as well as generally celebrating cycling and the human body.
However, in light of the two diametrically opposed protests now looking likely to take place in the same small town on the same summer day, the organising committee of the Naked Bike Ride this week made the “difficult decision” to postpone their long-planned 20th anniversary event, to avoid participating riders being put at risk.
“We feel we will be unable to guarantee the safety of riders, which is our main concern,” says a social media post by Brighton Naked Bike Ride. “This was not a decision we took lightly but amongst the committee members we felt we had no choice.”
“Brighton has a long and proud history of making our voices heard on many issues that affect us and we propose to postpone the ride rather than cancel entirely,” the statement continues. “We hope to announce a date in the late summer to early Autumn to ride again. We are particularly sad as this will be our 20th ride and we’re looking forward to making it the best yet.”
Cycling Weekly has reached out to the organising committee of the Brighton Naked Bike Ride for further comment.
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