Shock as video of World Naked Bike Ride in Brighton posted to porn website

An organiser of the Brighton leg of the World Naked Bike Ride has expressed shock after it emerged that footage of the 2019 edition had been posted to a leading porn website.

The five-minute video of the event was uploaded to the website xHamster, which is said to be the 20th most visited website in the world, and the fourth biggest for adult content.

The Argus says that the clip, filmed on Preston Road in Brighton, seemed to focus on a number of women taking part in the ride.

Co-organiser Steve Sims told the newspaper: “What do they get from it? There are 500 of us carrying out a protest in the hope that we will affect public opinion positively

“These people are seeking some sort of pleasure. Let us hope that our sheer weight of numbers and our aim wins out over these very strange people.”

The Brighton ride returned last year after being postponed in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, with organisers saying: “We’ve seen the world change almost unrecognisably since the Covid pandemic struck.

“People have come together to fight the invisible threat of viral infection. Let’s hope we can unite to fight climate change equally as effectively.

"There were beautiful moments and unexpected benefits during lockdown, streets denuded of gridlocked traffic, people exercising at home and on city streets, birdsong instead of car noise, a realisation that human life on the planet is fragile.

“There have also been bold moves by Brighton and Hove City Council to make cycling and other active travel safer and more appealing during lockdown.

“Hopefully this will continue, moving into the future.There is much to be optimistic about.”

First held in Seattle in 2003, with the debut edition in London taking place the following year, the World Naked Bike Ride is now held in more than 120 cities around the world.

Its objectives are to:

Protest against the global dependency on oil\Curb car culture
Obtain real rights for cyclists
Demonstrate the vulnerability of cyclists on city streets
Celebrate body freedom.

Under the Sexual Offences Act 2003, in England public nudity is not illegal unless there is intent to cause alarm or distress to others – something that not everyone who sees it go past is aware of.