The Great Escape have issued a statement after three women tragically died in the sea off the coast of Brighton.
Today (Wednesday May 13) marks the first day of the festival of new music in Brighton, with one of its showcase events set to be the opening beach party tonight, presented by NME, with Angine De Poitrine headlining.
Ahead of that performance, the festival have shared an update with ticketholders to reassure them that all events are set to go ahead safely as scheduled despite the tragic events 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 around 5:45am. Despite the best efforts of ambulance crews and paramedics, the three women were declared dead at the scene.
In their 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.”
Thanking the emergency services, they added: “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.”
“Following guidance from the relevant authorities, festival operations and scheduled performances will continue as planned,” they added.
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 and it will run until May 16. Over 450 up-and-coming and hotly tipped artists will play across 35 walkable venues in the city, and you can check the full line-up via the official mobile app here.
NME is also hosting its own stage at the festival, which will be located at The Old Market on Friday May 15. French/Mancunian noiseniks Mandy, Indiana and Swedish garage rockers Girl Scout top the bill, both recent stars of The Cover, NME’s flagship cover story franchise spotlighting the best and brightest in new music.
The NME Stage line-up is rounded out by NYC alt-pop trio Chanpan and Aussie indie five-piece Any Young Mechanics.
NME will also be presenting the NME 100 Gig Guide: The Great Escape Edition – the definitive guide to seeing artists from the NME 100, our annual list of essential emerging artists, who will be playing live in Brighton next month.
