Date/Time
Date(s) - 29/07/2017 - 06/08/2017
12:00 am
Categorieën Geen Categorieën
Locatie: Amsterdam centre, various locations
Amsterdam Gay Pride is an annual festival of freedom and diversity. The festival kicks off with Roze Zaterdag, Pink Saturday. The rest of the festival week is packed with festivities. Without doubt, the highlight of Amsterdam Gay Pride is the Pride Canal Parade, an extravagant flotilla of boats, barges and dinghies cruising the Amsterdam canals.
Amsterdam’s gay scene is vibrant and easy accessible. Reguliersdwarsstraat is the city’s gay centre, a street overloaded with bars, cafés and clubs of which many are meeting places for gay and lesbians. The Dutch have always been tolerant towards homosexuals. Therefore it should be no surprise that The Netherlands was the first country to allow gay couples to get married officially. This first gay marriage took place in 2001.
Amsterdam’s gay scene is a laid back affair. If you were to take your grandmother on an Amsterdam outing she would not even notice. However, if you take her to Gay Pride Weekend when Amsterdam paints itself pink she may start asking questions. The Canal Pride flotilla parading along Prinsengracht will probably delight her and will be her conversation subject for the next few weeks or even months.
The Canal Parade is always on the Saturday afternoon during the festival week. A multitude of boats takes part and float along Prinsengracht and up the Amstel River. Don’t think you will be the only one to party! The route is several kilometers long; plenty of opportunity to be a spectator. One of the best viewing points is near the Stopera and Skinny Bridge.
Check the Gay Pride website for details.
Amsterdam Gay Pride en Canal parade and street parties: 29 juli – 6 august 2017
Photo credit: Caroline Georgatou & Flickr
