In the good old days, winter was the season of mince pies, mulled wine and Michael Bublé. Now, however, Spotify Wrapped is more of a hallmark of the holidays than Hallmark itself. So much so that other apps have followed in the streaming platform’s digital footsteps and created their own year in review. Monzo has appealed to those nostalgic for Halloween with its fear-inducing recap in which you can see just how much money you spent over the year, while Xbox understands that some people prefer listening to friends shout into a mic than Taylor Swift and so summarised gamers’ 2024 activity with the console. Though a personal Brighton: Wrapped is too depressing for print (you wandered aimlessly around Primark 32 times; you spent 122 minutes waiting for the 5B; June was your Dysentery-esque Stomach Flu from Swimming in the Sea phase), here is a summary of what changed in Brighton over the year.
Celebrities Visited
While there are several celebrities that live in our city (unsurprisingly, since the average monthly rent is currently an eye-watering £1,766), 2024 saw Brighton visited by Jack Black and Ed Sheeran. The former played a concert at the Brighton Centre in May as part of rock duo, Tenacious D, and ventured out of his dressing room long enough to be spotted waiting to cross the road by the beach. Unfortunately, since Black is heavily bearded and donned large headphones and a tie-dye t-shirt, he blended into Brighton’s scenery more than a recycling bin and a rainbow flag. Ed Sheeran, on the other hand, chose to play at a much more intimate, underground venue, popular with the city’s youth – Fairlight Primary School. Yes, instead of half-heartedly singing He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands, children got to attend a surprise performance of one of the best-selling artists of the 21st century, who even donated five of his guitars to support the school’s music lessons. Luckily, they’d have easily been able to cough up the pier’s new £1 entrance fee for non-residents.
School’s Out Forever
Despite Sheeran’s secret gig, Brighton’s school situation was in dire straits in 2024. Two schools, St Peter’s Community Primary School in Portslade and St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School on Ann Street, permanently closed earlier this year amid falling pupil numbers in the area. To prevent a repeat of this situation, the council planned to redistribute children from oversubscribed schools to those less popular. However, three popular schools, St Luke’s Primary, Goldstone Primary, and Patcham Infant School, won their appeals and will retain their intake. Yet campaigners are refusing to give up, with the dedicated group, Class Divide, calling for better education for the city’s poorest children and discussing further proposals with Brighton and Hove City Council’s cabinet in December 2024.
Relocation, Relocation, Relocation
2024 saw us waving goodbye to Debenhams and saying hej to Ikea. In case you’ve been living under a rock, the Swedish furniture-and-meatball retailer is coming to Churchill Square in 2025, meaning you can decorate your rock with a GRÅFJÄLLET or a MALM. Furthermore, the sleek style and neutral tones of Ikea’s furnishings mean that students from Northfield to East Slope can rest assured knowing that nothing will clash with their copy of The Great Wave off Kanagawa. In other news, some of the city’s stores decided to move this year. Not a big leaving-my-childhood-home-and-coming-to-university move – more like the move from your second-year house near Lewes Road to your third-year house also near Lewes Road. Holland and Barrett relocated from North Street to Western Road, while Oliver Bonas moved a mere four doors down to accommodate more stock. Residents should also be prepared to say goodbye to the I(sore)360, which has closed with immediate effect following a series of financial troubles.
So, there you have it! While some things have changed this year, the city continued to be in its Green Environment Equality Queen phase by electing Siân Berry as its MP. And there are still, inexplicably, about 1000 Subways.