Mayor, Queen open WorldPride; Mayor says: Adapt to queers or you don’t belong here
Queen Máxima opened WorldPride in Amsterdam on Saturday amid loud cheers at the Vondelpark Open-Air Theater. “Being who you are, loving who you want — that’s normal, isn’t it?” the queen said in her opening remarks. She closed by saying, "Hold on to each other, support each other, and enjoy it!”
Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema opened WorldPride alongside the queen. She called for tolerance, saying, "To every Amsterdamer, young and old, who has difficulty with queers, is even intimidated, or is aggressive: adapt, or otherwise you do not belong here.”
WorldPride is the large international counterpart of the annual Pride Amsterdam festival, which began July 8. This is the first time the two events largely coincide. The celebration has a bigger and more international scope than usual, with additional events and heightened focus on the global fight for equal rights for LGBTQIA+ people. Amsterdam received around 1 million visitors.
Before the opening, about 10,000 people took part in the Pride Walk that started around noon. Participants marched in a colorful procession from Dam Square to the Vondelpark. The walk aimed to draw attention to what organizers call the most vulnerable groups in the LGBTQIA+ community, especially asylum seekers who face opposition both in their home countries and in the Netherlands.
“It is very important to show that we are together, that you are not alone,” organizer Femke van Casteren told local broadcaster AT5.
One participant said: “Now that acceptance is decreasing, it is very important that we make our voices heard. Especially for the refugees who are already having a very hard time right now. Like with those demonstrations against the asylum centers.”
Another participant, a transgender woman, questioned why LGBTQIA+ people must constantly justify their behavior. She said she uses the women’s restroom and often faces criticism from other users. “Why is that? Trans rights are also human rights,” she said.
The program includes street parties, concerts, the annual Canal Parade on Aug. 1, and a human rights conference. Fifty-three landmark buildings across Amsterdam are illuminated in rainbow colors. Part of the program takes place in the Vondelpark, which has been renamed Pride Park for the duration of the event through Aug. 8.
