Record breaking donations at Burning the Clocks 2024

Visitors watching Burning the Clocks in December, generously donated £6,500 in cash and card donations as they watched the spectacular lantern parade, fireworks and bonfire, with an additional £1,705 donated via the online crowdfunder. Thanks to this support and the significant grant from Arts Council England, donations from local families, businesses and support from volunteers at the event, the event’s external costs were fully covered for the first time in a decade.

The 2024 Burning the Clocks event on 21 December witnessed over 2,000 people taking part in the lantern parade, with many community groups, including for the first time new members from the local deaf community, specifically those from Omeima-Arts. Over a dozen local bands, dancers and artists entertained the 32,000 estimated onlookers who came to celebrate the shortest day of the year.

Rob Batson, Executive Producer at Same Sky, said: “We are overwhelmed by the support of people who enjoyed Burning the Clocks in December and who generously donated money on the night and via our crowdfunder. Their support, along with substantial cuts we made and additional donated time from our wider team, means we covered the core cost of this immense event in this wonderful city for the first time in years. It also means that everyone who took part has ownership of Burning the Clocks 2024.

“A huge thanks also goes out to the volunteers, artists, and lantern carriers who collected donations on the night and to all those who provided gifts for our crowdfunder - we couldn’t have done it without them.”

Burning the Clocks 2024 was also generously supported by Arts Council England. Other supporters include Hand Brew Co. who donated a portion of their beer sales throughout December towards supporting the event, plus Brighton Fringe, Brighton and Hove City Council, Brighton Winter Fayre, Brighton Dome and Festival and Sea Lanes who made in-kind contributions to support the event.

The crowdfunder was made possible thanks to local artist Graham Carter who created another collection of limited edition prints for Burning the Clocks, and whose work is still available to buy on Same Sky’s website.

For the latest updates from Same Sky, and opportunities to help with Burning the Clocks 2025, visit Same Sky’s Website (samesky.co.uk/events/burning-the-clocks) or find them on Instagram (@sameskybtn).