A statement from Sussex Police said: “Sussex Police have identified a suspect package on Brighton seafront”.
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An area by a bandstand was evacuated and cordoned off before an army bomb disposal unit carried out a controlled explosion this afternoon.
Explosive experts with the Sussex police removed the package safely.
Sussex Police have reassured the thousands who are in the city for the celebrations that “there is no risk to the public” and have asked the public to respect the cordons that are in place.
Organisers had a planned a new “high profile” route for 2015 along the city’s popular coastline but after a delay of more than an hour and a half were forced to resort to their former route.
Announcing the route earlier this year, the website said: ‘The Pride Community Parade is going back to its Pride roots in an exciting new high profile parade route for 2015.
The event is the largest ever held in Brighton, with music from acts including Fatboy Slim, Ella Henderson and The Human League.
The suspect package has been detonated in a controlled explosion as part of “normal police procedure”.
The discovery saw the scheduled 11am start for the parade delayed, but it is now making its way around the city after its route was diverted away from Marine Parade and along Western Road.
Chief Superintendent Nev Kemp said: “We believe the item was placed there deliberately and made to look like a suspicious device to disrupt the parade”.
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Spectators were waiting for Brighton Pride’s 25th anniversary celebration to begin.
