The city’s election counts won’t take place at the Brighton Centre this year because Bluey got there first.
The show based on the popular kids’ cartoon character has been scheduled to appear at the seafront venue from 5 to 7 July for more than a year now.
So when the snap election was called, Brighton and Hove City Council, which organises the count, had to look elsewhere.
The count will now be held at the Portslade Sports Centre, which was chosen as it has space for 150 count tables and 500 people.
This will mean the sports centre will be closed for three days, from Wednesday, 3 July to Friday, 5 July.
This will also mean Portslade Aldridge Community Academy (PACA) will have limited use of the sports field.
A spokesman for Brighton and Hove City Council said: “We looked at other venues in the city, but none are as suitable as the sports centre which will be able to hold 500 people and 150 count tables, has good accessibility, large areas for declaring the winners and accommodating the media.
“Freedom Leisure, which runs the sports centre on behalf of the council, has already contacted its customers to let them know of the closure and will be providing gym and studio access to its members at other sites across the city and, where possible, relocating group and club activities.
“The council realises the closure of the sports centre will cause inconvenience to some of our residents and customers, but we hope everyone can understand the reasons.”
