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The Great Escape issues statement after three women die in Brighton coast tragedy
The Great Escape says its Brighton festival will continue as planned after three women died in the sea near Madeira Drive.
The Great Escape has issued a statement after three women died in the sea off the coast of Brighton.
Wednesday May 13 marks the first day of the festival in the city, with the opening beach party set to take place tonight as planned. The event, presented by NME, will be headlined by Angine De Poitrine.
Before that performance, the festival sent an update to ticketholders saying its events would continue safely and on schedule, despite the incident on Brighton beach overnight.
The bodies of three women were recovered from the sea near Madeira Drive this morning after emergency services were called at about 5:45am. Ambulance crews and paramedics attended, but the women were declared dead at the scene.
In its statement, The Great Escape said:
“Following the very sad and tragic events that took place on Brighton beach this morning, The Great Escape Festival wish to extend our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of the deceased at this difficult time.”
The festival also thanked the emergency services and said:
“For those attending The Great Escape 2026, we wish to assure you that Brighton beach is a large public area and the section of beach occupied by The Great Escape Festival site has not been affect by the incident.”
It added:
“Following guidance from the relevant authorities, festival operations and scheduled performances will continue as planned.”
At a news conference, Sussex Police Chief Superintendent Adam Hays said:
“This is a tragic incident and we are at the very early stages of our enquiries. Our priority right now is to identify all three women and contact their next of kin.”
This year marks the 20th anniversary of The Great Escape. The festival runs until May 16 and will feature more than 450 emerging and tipped artists across 35 walkable venues in the city. The full line-up is available via the official mobile app here.
NME is also hosting a stage at the festival, located at The Old Market on Friday May 15. French/Mancunian noiseniks Mandy, Indiana and Swedish garage rockers Girl Scout top the bill, both of whom have recently featured in The Cover, NME’s flagship cover story franchise spotlighting new music.
The NME Stage line-up also includes NYC alt-pop trio Chanpan and Aussie indie five-piece Any Young Mechanics.
NME will also present the NME 100 Gig Guide: The Great Escape Edition, a guide to seeing artists from the NME 100, the publication’s annual list of essential emerging artists, who will be playing live in Brighton next month.
