Come Visit Brighton This Easter!

With metrological Spring having sprung, it means Mother's Day and Easter are upon us. So what better than a short break by-the-seaside and a chance to enjoy and explore Brighton while it's still relatively quiet.

Maybe a long weekend at a bed and breakfast, or for those with a penchant for the more upmarket then a few snatched lazy nights in one of the city’s highly recommended hotels?

Once you are in the city then thoughts turn to nights-on-the-town and long lazy days of shopping and eating-out. Plus, the city is blessed with a brand new community sports stadium (home of Championship side, Brighton & Hove Albion), and the all-new Brighton Wheel.

Various city venues play host to See Festival, which runs from 24th March to 1st April. Billed as a documentary film extravaganza, it is headlined by the eccentric and never-less-than-entertaining, Shaun Ryder.

As the city gears up for its annual spring festival season, brighton.co.uk will be your one-stop online resource for hotels & accommodation, eating-out, shopping, what’s on listings and much more.

You can read our first Brighton Festival preview in The Brighton Magazine, where bassist Peter Hook talks about Joy Division's legacy; ahead of the Heritage Orchestra's unique take on the band's back catalogue.

The Great Escape Festival, Europe's leading festival for new music, takes the city by storm over this May's middle weekend. Thirty local venues will host three hundred bands, and local cyber cafes & wifi hotspots will be alive with young punters tweeting and filling chat forums with updates from all their favourite bands.

Brighton even had a link to the BAFTAs, when a local teen got to interview some of the world's biggest cinematic stars. City school & colleges are providing plenty of free opportunities for their students to get involved in the arts.

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Brighton Festival Launch

It's that time of year again. I think everybody in Brighton looks forward to May and the annual festival.

This year's Brighton Festival launched on Saturday with a blistering performance by Asian Dub Foundation, at Brighton Dome. And I'm looking forward to another great schedule of events from Brighton Fringe.

You can find a gallery of images from the festival events so far, including Asian Dub Foundation, at: Brighton Festival Images.

Here are a few forthcoming events which might wet your appetite:

• The Muel and The Moulettes performing at Komedia;
• Neil Ansell's (former Panorama journalist) - near death experiences;
• National Comedy Talent Competition in Brighton

If you're a bit "bookish" or enjoy a lively and thought provoking discussion you might like to the Books and Debate programme, which launched with Billy Bragg on Sunday.

And, just a quick reminder: If you're travelling from out of town you can find a broad range of hotels, bed and breakfasts and hostels by visiting the Brighton Hotels section of Brighton.co.uk and you can find Restaurants in Brighton too.

Enjoy the Festival!

And, remember if you have anything to share about the Brighton Festival post your comments at the bottom of this Blog.