The Netherlands shows a very high level of social acceptance to the LGBT community. Main article: LGBT rights in the Netherlands The name change and the appearance of the 'I' in LGBTI worked to form a more inclusive environment for all people to celebrate their gender and sexuality. Since the Netherlands have learned about the intersexual community, digesting and learning their culture has been their top priority. In 2016, the EuroPride had changed its community name to LGBTI, I for intersexual, since it was the first year in which there was an appearance of an intersexual community in the festivals' program. The Netherlands' Police Department wear pink uniforms during the festival to emphasis the departments' support in the LGBT community. The Netherland Police Units participate in a yearly event that illustrate the inclusion of the Netherlands. By changing the name of the festival they hoped to encourage other prides to become more inclusive in their annual events. President of the board, Irene Hemelaar, confirmed that the change will be happening, but the name change only came through in 2017. The ProGay foundation, that founded the festival, argued that the term 'Gay' did not sufficiently express the diversity amongst the participants of the Pride. In 2015, the board of the Amsterdam Gay Pride took a different approach towards the name of the festival.
On Rembrandtplein there's a closing party on the Sunday after the Canal Parade. There are also street parties in the streets where there's a concentration of gay bars, like Reguliersdwarsstraat, Zeedijk, Warmoesstraat and alongside Amstel. The Amsterdam Gay Pride usually spans a week of various activities for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, including exhibitions, cultural and sport events.
Marianne van Praag, a Reform rabbi from The Hague, was the only rabbi aboard the Jewish boat. Dana International was on the Jewish boat, as well as the Fokkens twins (Louise Fokkens and Martine Fokkens), who are famous in the Netherlands for having worked 50 years as sex workers in Amsterdam's Red Light District before their retirement earlier in 2014. In 2014, the first Jewish boat and the first Moroccan boat participated in the Amsterdam Pride Canal Parade. The peak of the festival is during the Canal Parade, a parade of boats of large variety on the first Saturday of August, which usually goes from Westerdok over the Prinsengracht, the Amstel river, the Zwanenburgwal and the Oudeschans to Oosterdok. The latter purpose served another event, which is called Pink Saturday (Dutch: Roze Zaterdag) since 1979 and is held in a different city each year since 1981. It was therefore not like many other Gay Prides, which began as demonstrations for equal rights. The festival attracts several hundred-thousand visitors each year and is one of the largest publicly held annual events in the Netherlands.Īmsterdam Pride was first organized in 1996, meant as a festival to celebrate freedom and diversity. This image shows a large number of individuals that attend the festival.Īmsterdam Pride, Amsterdam Gay Pride or Pride Amsterdam is a citywide gay- festival held annually at the center of Amsterdam during the first weekend of August.