Flyering and fly posting

After negotiations with Brighton & Hove City Council, a new policy regarding flyering restrictions has been imposed on Brighton Fringe 2025. 

Artists, next year, will still require a license to physically hand out flyers in certain areas, but there is no time restrictions, so you can flyer all the day long. Brighton Fringe artists will be allowed from April 15^th 2025 in order to allow those with shows at the beginning of the Fringe to have sufficient time to promote their events.

This policy has been enforced by the council to bring Brighton Fringe’s flyering restrictions in line with their city-wide policy on flyers and waste management.  Whilst Brighton Fringe has pushed back hard on the council, we must acknowledge that Brighton Fringe has been the recipient of compromise from the council after their considerations on the financial implications this policy will have on Brighton Fringe artists.

Artists will still require a license to physically hand out flyers in certain areas in Brighton, and these can be collected from the Artists Hub during the festival.

The policy is as follows: 

• All Brighton Fringe participants can flyer at any time within the designated Brighton Fringe flyering zone: New Road, Jubilee Street, Balley Gardens, and the perimeter of Victoria Gardens, if the Brighton Fringe logo appears on the flyer. Refer to the red zone in the map above.
• In the greyed-out zone you will require a flyering permit regardless of the time of day, and your flyer must contain the Brighton Fringe logo.
• For 2025, there are no time restrictions on the flyering license. This means that as long as you have the license on you and the Brighton Fringe logo is printed on your flyer, you can now flyer at anytime within the grey zone with no time restrictions.
• 10 licenses will be purchased by Brighton fringe to be made available from the Artists' Hub at no cost to the artist, between 10.00 and 18.00. These will be handed out on a first-come-first-served basis, and will need to be worn by each person handing out flyers. These licenses must be returned within 4 hours, or if it has been collected after 17.45, it can be returned the following morning. We will require a contact number and deposit to be left (either a debit/credit card OR form of identification) which will be stored in a safe. 
• Outside of the greyed-out area of the map, you are free to flyer to your heart's content without a license, great news for those artists performing at venues in Kemptown, Hove and further afield! 

If you at any time are reprimanded or issued a fine regarding flyering, please contact the Artists & Venues Services team as soon as possible on [email protected] with as much detail (including copies of any fines issued) as possible regarding the incident. We are determined to ensure that artists do not face the financial consequences of the council’s decision. 

Please use the Brighton Fringe logo on your flyers as below:

(This is the only logo accepted on flyers in both purple and white formats)

We are continuing to discuss this matter at a fortnightly meeting with the Event Manager at Brighton Council and continue to apply pressure to ease restrictions on flyering for Brighton Fringe Artists. 

Flyering alternatives

Brighton Fringe suggests alternative approaches to flyering such as digital flyers, sandwich boards or large posters containing QR codes to your event listing. Flyering can be a very popular approach at fringe festivals, particularly for those last-minute ticket sales. However, flyers can be a scatter gun approach, handing out materials you have paid for to people unlikely to convert to sales. The below can be a more cost-effective, targeted and not requiring of a flyering licence.  

Digital Flyers 

A digital marketing flyer is like that of the usual marketing flyers that you would hand out — the only difference is that it is in digital form. You could print a QR code that links to your flyer for audiences to scan, engage them with a pitch (or costume!) and secure yourself a more likely sale. 

You could design your own flyer using a program like Canva and create a QR code here. 

Sandwich Board / Large Correx Poster 

You could print and wear a large poster or sandwich board to attract audiences. Again, display a QR code but this time it could link directly to your event listing. 

You could design your own poster using a program like Canva, create a QR code here and have it printed by local printers Gemini or an online shop like Solopress. 

FLY-POSTING

Fly-posting is putting up posters or stickers on properties or street items without consent from the owner. Examples of fly-posting would be:

• sticking posters onto boarded-up shops advertising a gig
• attaching a poster or flyer to a lamppost
• putting stickers onto road signs showing political statements

Please note that fly-posting is illegal and any costs incurred by Brighton Fringe due to flyposting will be charged to the promoter.