Every May, something rather magical happens in Brighton. Thousands of children pour into the city streets carrying handmade sculptures and larger-than-life creations — a riot of colour, noise, and imagination that announces the start of Brighton Festival. This year, the Same Sky Children's Parade celebrates its 40th anniversary, and the theme couldn't be more fitting: Read All About It!
Books Brought to Life
For 2026, more than 50 schools and groups from across Brighton and Hove have each chosen a book to inspire their parade entry. The results span centuries of storytelling — from ancient myths to modern picture books, from Michael Rosen to Jules Verne.
You might spot a Supertato waddling past, a BFG towering above the crowd, or the Wild Things themselves stomping down the road. There are dragons from How to Train Your Dragon, Anansi weaving stories from Ghanaian folklore, and the Great River Dragon snaking through from Chinese mythology. Cats battle robots. Snails venture into space. And somehow, Alice in Wonderland will rub shoulders with Roald Dahl, Oliver Jeffers, and HG Wells' War of the Worlds.
It's one of the most joyful — and genuinely impressive — community arts events in the country.
What Goes Into Making It
Behind every parade entry is weeks of making. Schools work with artists and workshop leaders to build their sculptures by hand, using materials that can be shaped, layered, painted, and carried through the streets. Wet strength tissue paper is a staple of this kind of work — it's strong enough to hold together when pasted over frames, translucent when lit from within, and lightweight enough for children to carry. Willow withies form the bones of many parade structures, bent and bound into frames before being covered with layers of tissue, PVA, and paint.
If you've ever wondered what parade lantern-making actually involves, or you'd like to run a similar project yourself, you'll find everything you need at Carnival Papers — wet strength tissue paper in large sheets, willow withies, PVA glue, wire, and more. Shop parade and lantern making supplies →
40 Years in the Making
The Children's Parade has been a fixture of Brighton Festival since 1986, produced by Same Sky — a Brighton-based arts organisation that specialises in large-scale, participatory community events. This year it falls on the festival's 60th edition, making it a double milestone worth celebrating.
The parade kicks off three weeks of performances, events, and family programming running from 1–25 May 2026. From young readers events and outdoor performances to world-class circus, there's a lot to discover once the parade has wound its way through the streets.
The Route
The parade sets off at 10:30am from New Road / Jubilee Street, heading down to North Street, along East Street and Grand Junction Road, finishing on Madeira Drive at approximately 1:00pm. If you want a great spot, North Street and The Lanes are the best places to plant yourself.
Come and Watch
The Children's Parade is free to watch and open to everyone. Utterly spectacular, and one of those events that reminds you why Brighton is such a brilliant place to live.
The parade kicks off three weeks of family-friendly performances and events as part of the 60th Brighton Festival, running 1–25 May 2026. You can download the full digital programme here or find out more at brightonfestival.org.
Share the Magic
Are you heading out to watch? We'd love to see your photos and videos from the parade. Tag us on Instagram at @carnivalpapersuk and @sameskybtn and share the creativity — whether it's the sculptures, the costumes, the chaos, or just the sheer joy of it all.
Who's Taking Part
This year's parade features 55 groups — schools, community organisations, and carnival bands — each inspired by a different story. Here's the full lineup:
| # | Group | Inspiration |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Unified Rhythm | Performing band |
| 2 | Meridian Community Primary School | Look Up! by Nathan Bryan & Dapo Adeola |
| 3 | Brunswick Primary | The Land of Roar by Jenny McLachlan |
| 4 | St Nicolas C of E Primary | The Paper Dolls by Julia Donaldson & Rebecca Cobb |
| 5 | Aldrington CE Primary School | Quill Soup by Alan Durant & Dale Blankenaar |
| 6 | City Academy Whitehawk | The Cafe at the Edge of the Woods by Mikey Please |
| 7 | Benfield and Hangleton Primary School – EKO Trust | Omar, the Bees and Me by Helen Mortimer & Katie Cottle |
| 8 | Hove Learning Federation (West Hove Inf & Jrs) | Snail in Space by Rachel Bright & Nadia Shireen |
| 9 | Peter Gladwin Primary School | Charlie Cook's Favourite Book by Julia Donaldson |
| 10 | Eastbrook Primary Academy | Chocolate Cake — a poem by Michael Rosen |
| 11 | Carlton Hill Primary School | We're All Wonders by R.J. Palacio |
| 12 | Hove Park School | Rules of Summer by Shaun Tan |
| 13 | Varndean School Band | Performing band |
| 14 | St Andrew's C.E. Primary School | Ocean Meets Sky by The Fan Brothers |
| 15 | Beehub | Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak |
| 16 | St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School | Clean Up! by Nathan Bryon & Dapo Adeola |
| 17 | St Paul's C of E Primary School | How to Catch a Star by Oliver Jeffers |
| 18 | Bilingual Primary School | The Barnabus Project by The Fan Brothers |
| 19 | Goldstone Primary School | Stitch Head by Guy Bass |
| 20 | Christ's Hospital School Band | Performing band |
| 21 | Middle Street Primary School | Pants by Nick Sharratt & Giles Andreae |
| 22 | Moulsecoomb Primary School & West Blatchington Primary and Nursery School | The Smeds and the Smoods by Julia Donaldson |
| 23 | Swiss Gardens Primary School | The Heart and the Bottle by Oliver Jeffers |
| 24 | Windlesham School & Nursery | Supertato by Sue Hendra & Paul Linnet |
| 25 | St Luke's Primary School | Cave Baby by Julia Donaldson |
| 26 | Brighton College Prep School | Aliens Love Underpants by Claire Freedman & Ben Cort |
| 27 | Brighton Girls | The Goddess Isis — Egyptian Mythology |
| 28 | Brighton & Hove Home Educators | The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick |
| 29 | Blatchington Mill School | Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne |
| 30 | Elm Grove Primary School | The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame |
| 31 | St John the Baptist Catholic Primary School | Robin Hood by Bethan Woollvin |
| 32 | St Marks C of E Primary School | Marcy and the Riddle of the Sphinx by Jo Todd-Stanton |
| 33 | Queen's Park Primary School | Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly |
| 34 | Woodingdean Primary School | Riddle of the Runes by Janina Ramirez |
| 35 | Batucada Carnival Club / Heathfield Community College | War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells |
| 36 | Create Music Brass Ensemble | Performing band |
| 37 | Westdene Primary School | How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell |
| 38 | Brackenbury Primary School | Leon and the Place Between by Angela McAllister |
| 39 | St Martins CE Primary and Nursery School | Moomin by Tove Jansson |
| 40 | St Marys & St Mary Magdalen's Catholic Primary Schools | Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll |
| 41 | Patcham Infant School | How to Catch a Star by Oliver Jeffers |
| 42 | Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School | The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis |
| 43 | Rudyard Kipling Primary School and Nursery | The Snow Dragon by Abi Elphinstone |
| 44 | Saltdean Primary School | The BFG by Roald Dahl |
| 45 | Balfour Primary School | Cats Vs Robots by Margaret Stohl & Lewis Peterson |
| 46 | Mile Oak Primary School | The Story of the Blue Planet by Andri Snaer Magnason |
| 47 | Steel Tribe Steel Band | Performing band |
| 48 | Dorothy Stringer | Chanctonbury Ring — a local myth |
| 49 | Coldean Primary School | Jack and the Beanstalk — an English fairy tale |
| 50 | BACA – Brighton Aldridge Community Academy | Greek mythology, hybrid monsters & mythical beasts |
| 51 | Downs Infant School | Anansi and the Box of Stories — a Ghanaian folktale |
| 52 | Downs Junior School | The Great River Dragon — a Chinese myth |
| 53 | Stanford Infant School | The Gingerbread Man — a German fairy tale |
| 54 | Stanford Junior School | Masha and The Firebird by Margaret Bateson-Hill & Anne Wilson |
| 55 | Fairlight Primary and Nursery School | Rapunzel by Bethan Woollvin |
The Same Sky Children's Parade is produced by Same Sky and supported by Brighton Girls and Jumpin Fun.
