Half of Netherlands residents think Pride is "too extreme"

Exactly half of Netherlands residents think the Pride event in Amsterdam is too extreme and “risque,” according to the annual Event Brand Study by Hendrik Beerda Brand Consultancy and the University of Amsterdam. Sympathy for the event has increased over the past year.

“Most people have their clothes on during the boat parade,” brand consultant Hendrik Beerda said to RTL Nieuws. “But after 27 years, a large proportion of the Dutch still have problems with Pride Amsterdam.” The only event rated even more obscene than Pride is the Karmasutra Fair.

Beerda noted that people from outside Amsterdam think differently about Pride than Amsterdammers themselves, often having a more negative view. “Amsterdam residents have been there themselves or know people who attend. That makes the image more nuanced,” Beerda said. “Others know Pride mainly from TV, which mainly shows the boat parade. They hardly know anything about the Pride program.”

Sympathy for the event has increased over the years. Last year, Pride Amsterdam ranked 36th out of 50 regarding sympathy. This year it’s in 31st place.

According to Beerda, the name change from “Gay Pride” to “Pride” in 2017 played a role. “If I compare the dates of all years, it seems that people have softened their minds about the event since the name was changed. I strongly suspect it is because the word ‘gay’ was dropped.”

The event’s name changed again to Queer & Pride Amsterdam this year. It is not yet clear whether that affected people’s sentiments.

Beerda’s consultancy and the University of Amsterdam have done their Event Brand Study annually since 2016. This year, over 11,000 people participated.