A suspect package was discovered on the A259 by the bandstand at 11.10am on Saturday (August 1) before the Brighton Pride Parade was due to start.
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A cordon has been put in place and expert explosives officers are en route to deal with it.
Chief Supt Kemp said: “This is one of the biggest policing operations we manage, and it could not happen without the support and hard work from all those involved and the thousands of people who travel from far and wide to attend it and help make it an fantastic and fun event”.
Sussex Police said explosives officers were called and part of the seafront closed off.
‘There is no immediate risk to the public and we ask that you respect the cordons in place and the officers dealing with the incident.’.
Spectators were waiting for Brighton Pride’s 25th anniversary celebration to begin.
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.
It is still not clear if the package is unsafe but the parade has now begun along the new route.
The two-day festival is widely acknowledged as the country’s most popular LGBT (lesbian, gay bisexual and transgender) Pride event.
Later, a statement from police claimed the device was detonated 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.
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“We want everyone to continue to enjoy the Pride celebrations”.
