First week of Queer & Pride in Amsterdam kicks off with Pride Walk

The Pride festival Queer & Pride kicks off in Amsterdam on Saturday. The first week that Queer Amsterdam is responsible for, will start with the Pride Walk, demonstrating for equal rights for the LGBTQIA+ community worldwide. The festive demonstrations will take place throughout Amsterdam for two weeks, including the Canal Parade boat parade, Het Parool reported.

Participants will gather at Dam Square at noon on Saturday, where a series of speeches will be given. At 1 p.m., the procession will move along Leidseplein to Museumplein, where it will be followed by a small festival with market stalls, music, and sports activities. The organizers emphasized that interested participants do not have to be queer to take part in the Pride Walk. Anyone who supports the struggle of the so-called rainbow community is welcome.

The first week of Queer & Pride is themed "By Queers for Queers" and is dedicated to "promoting equality, combating inequality of opportunity, and strengthening the social and economic position of all people who identify as LGBTQ+." Numerous events will take place until Friday, July 28, including queer film nights, conferences, as well as parties.

There are also many sports activities, such as a Pride run, chess competitions, and a queer tennis tournament. In addition, the Kwaku Summer Festival in Amsterdam-Zuidoost will be pink again on July 23, and a dinner will be organized for the transgender community on Leidseplein on Wednesday, July 26. Furthermore, there will be all kinds of performances and exhibitions about sex workers on Thursday. The second week of Queer & Pride, which includes the Canal Parade, will be celebrated from Tuesday, August 1, to Sunday, August 6.

During Queer & Pride, the rainbow colors can be seen throughout the city. At Amsterdam Central Station, a Pride flag flies on the roof and the colors are displayed on digital signs. In addition, the parking lot on Marnixstraat above the Surinamese restaurant Waterkant is draped in a giant 82-by-18-meter rainbow flag, just like last year. "This year, the Netherlands dropped another place in the European ranking of LGBTIQ + rights," says Brian Fernandes, initiator of the flag and owner of Waterkant. "With this largest Progress Pride flag in the world, we say: Come on Netherlands, do something about it. Put the Netherlands back on the map."

Furthermore, the Amsterdam Club Church celebrates its 15th anniversary on Saturday, on the day that Queer & Pride starts. Over the past15 years, people have become more tolerant of the queer community, says co-owner, gay activist and drag queen Richard Keldoulis. "But there are still plenty of setbacks," he says, referring to the recent attack on drag queen Miss Envy Peru in the capital. "We have to keep fighting."

Club Church, "a beacon of freedom," according to Keldoulis, has been increasingly spotted by the public, organizations, and the government over the past 15 years. "For example, we have discussions with the mayor about the erotic center and we work together with Soa Aids Nederland and PrEPnu". The latter is an organization that fights for widespread access to PrEP, a means to prevent HIV infection. The club also organizes themed and information evenings, such as about safe sex.

The club once started as a gay club, but is now much more, according to the owner. "We have become an LGBTQIA+-safe space. That is a sign of the times, the whole community is now more concerned with gender." The Pride's new name, Queer & Pride, "represents that gender diversity." Starting this year, two different parties will each organize their 'own' week, based on the desire to make the LGBTQIA+ event more inclusive and less commercial.