Brighton is a popular tourist resort with numerous hotels, restaurants and entertainment facilities which additionally serve a substantial business conference industry. The modern city of Brighton & Hove is also an important educational centre with two universities and many English language schools. In the Domesday Book, Brighton was called Bristelmestune and a rent of 4,000 herring was established.

In June 1514 Brighthelmstone was burnt to the ground by French raiders during a war between England and France. Only part of St. Nicholas's Church and the street pattern of what is now The Lanes survived the attack. The first known drawing of Brighthelmstone was made in 1545 and depicts what is believed to be the raid of 1514. During the 1740s and 1750s Dr Richard Russell of Lewes began prescribing the medicinal use of the seawater at Brighton to his patients.

By 1780, development of the Regency terraces had started and the fishing village quickly became the fashionable resort of Brighton. The growth of the town was further encouraged following the patronage of the Prince Regent (later King George IV) after his first visit in 1783. He spent much of his leisure time in the town and constructed the exotic and expensive Royal Pavilion during the early part of his Regency.

The arrival of the railway in 1841 brought Brighton within the reach of day-trippers from London and rapid population growth from around 7,000 in 1801 to over 120,000 by 1901.

The Victorian era saw the building of many of the famous landmarks in Brighton including the Grand Hotel (1864), the West Pier (1866) and the Palace Pier (1899).

More recently, gentrification of much of Brighton has seen a return of the highly fashionable image which had characterised the growth of the Regency period. Recent housing developments in the North Laine, for instance, have been kept in keeping with the local make up of the area. In 1997 Brighton and Hove were joined together to form the unitary authority of Brighton & Hove, which in turn was granted city status by the Queen as part of the millennial celebrations in 2000.

The Brighton Peace and Environment Centre is an education centre that aims to increase awareness of issues of social justice and the environment in the local area and across the world. The centre is open to the public and has a wealth of information for visitors on many different subjects. There are many different displays to peruse and a chance to get involved in short and long term projects as well as find out about any local events that are taking place. The Brighton Peace and Environment Centre aims to raise awareness and understanding of social justice, peace, sustainable development and environmental protection matters by providing information, education and positive practical solutions to global problems.

As a Development Education Centre, they are primarily an information resource service with a focus on peace and environmental issues. Development education aims to raise awareness and understanding of how global issues affect the everyday lives of individuals, communities and societies and how all of people can and do influence the world. They work with community groups, schools, local businesses and the public and also run courses for teachers about how to integrate global citizenship into the curriculum. There is a comprehensive library with over 2000 books and teaching packs. This collection is supplemented by artifacts from Asia and Africa that teachers can use as visual aids in their lessons.

There is a wide selection of information on local, national and international campaigns, projects and organisations. Starting out in 1982, when a group of concerned local people involved in the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) joined together and set up a small shop in Kensington Gardens called 'Give Peace a Chance'. In 1984 they moved to Trafalgar Street, where they became the Brighton Peace Centre. The shop soon expanded to include a library and resource area in the basement. During the late 1980s, they diversified their stock and resources to reflect a wider range of connected issues, including human rights, environmental protection, fair trade, and sustainable development social justice.

In November 1994 they moved to new premises at 43 Gardner Street, in the centre of the North Laine area of Brighton. The following year the name changed to Brighton Peace and Environment Centre, to reflect newer priorities. In 1991 they hosted the first Centre's for Change conference. This brought together organisations from all over Britain who shared concerns about peace, social justice, environmental and international development issues.
The Centre's for Change network was set up with in partnership with the Federation of Radical Booksellers, the National Association of Development Education Centre's, and the National Peace Council.

Further conferences were hosted by other centre's, including:

• Birmingham FoE (1992)
• York Peace Centre (1993)
• Cheltenham Rendezvous (1994)
• Doncaster Earth Centre (1997)
• Norwich Greenhouse (1998)
• Swansea Environment Centre (1999)
• Green & Away(Stroud, 2000)

Between 1991 and 1999 the centre came under the umbrella of the 'Give Peace A Chance' charitable trust, which also included the York Peace Centre and Milton Keynes Peace and Justice Centre. and are currently in the process of applying for independent charitable status. In 1996, the centre was granted status as a Development Education Centre (DEC) by the Development Education Association. This enabled them to work more closely with schools, and also gave easier access to funding for specialised projects. In 1998 the centre gained three years' National Lottery funding, to develop educational resources and a public access internet service.

Peace 2000 was another Lottery funded project, marking the UN Year for a Culture of Peace, and Brighton & Hove's status as a UN Peace Messenger City. This was done through a programme of educational activities, public meetings and cultural events, culminating in May 2000 in a major millennium festival event on Hove Lawns. In October 2002, BPEC moved from Gardner Street, largely due to ever-increasing rent in the area. A period of transition found them temporarily housed by Brighton Unemployed Centre in Hollingdean.

On 28th February 2004, they moved into the Brighton Eco Centre, a community building managed by the Ethical Property Company and continued the work of providing information and resources for the community to promote and raise awareness on peace and environment issues.

Brighton Pride is the biggest annual gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender festival in Britain and attracts more than 100,000 people every year. The whole event is free and lasts for a week culminating in the seafront carnival parade and main event party in Preston Park.

The parade is loud and colourful and goes along the front and up to the park where there are stalls, music, food and drink, and much more. The whole city is decorated with rainbow flags for the celebrations and there are street parties to end the festival in style.

Pride in Brighton & Hove is a registered charity in England & Wales. Promoting equality and diversity, and advances education to eliminate discrimination against the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender(LGBT) community. It raises awareness of issues by promoting and staging a series of events including Winter Pride and the annual free summer festival and making grants and/or donations to other charitable and voluntary organisations. The key objective is to develop an environment in favour of LGBT equality by providing information, advice and support.

The history of Pride in Brighton & Hove stretches back as far as 1992 when a very modest afternoon event on The Level. Since then it has evolved into the biggest free Pride festival in the UK and in September 2004 was awarded charitable status. Voted the best Pride in 2003 and 2004 by Gay Times and Boyz magazines and named 'Event of the Year' at the first annual Brighton and Hove Business Awards in 2004 it hosts a week of community events every February and August.

In August the Festival culminates in a Carnival Parade from the sea front, through the city to a busy festival in Preston Park. The 2005 Pride Festival ran from 30th July - 7th August. The highlight was the Carnival Parade on Saturday 6th August. More than 40 floats and walking tableaux took part with more than 120,000 people enjoying the Festival in Preston Park.

This was followed by a hugely popular Saturday and Sunday Street party on St James's Street in Brighton's gay village. The event has been hailed by the gay community across the country as 'The biggest and best Pride in the UK'.