Gay Festival in Amsterdam

During the first weekend of August Amsterdam hosts the annual Gay Pride march. The event, one of the largest public gatherings in Holland has been running since 1995 and attracts hundreds of thousands of people. The festival is crowded and peaceful and very liberal. Straight people are of course welcome but the more sheltered among you must prepare yourselves to see more men’s buttocks in three days than you have ever seen before.

Photo by PjotrP

Gay Pride in Amsterdam is basically a giant street festival with parades and parties that has a Madri-Gras atmosphere. The main event is (surprise surprise) the Canal Parade where a parade of up to 100 decorated floats and barges sponsored by the city’s gay businesses float down Amsterdam’s main canals. Each float is occupied by a different group, with leathermen, thongs, divas, dancing boys and drag queens all dancing away on their own boats.  The Netherlands is so laid back about the whole thing that the Dutch army and navy even join in the parade.

The Festival starts on the Friday with big street parties, especially around the Gay Homomonument in Westermarkt.  The hip and trendy Friday night party happens on Reguliersdwarsstraat while Paardenstraat features a mainly female gathering and there is even a straight party at Amstelveld . Also next to the Homomonument is the Pink Point Gay information kiosk, probably the best place to get all the latest information on this year’s Gay Pride festival.

Photo by Carolina Georgatou

The Canal Parade is the next day, starting at 2 PM and running from Central Station to the Oosterdok (Eastern Dock). Get there early to find a canal side seat as up to 350,000 spectators come and watch. Saturday continues into the early hours with lots more parties. On Sunday, the final day of the festival, everybody recovers with another round of street parties!

Gay Pride is not limited to official events and there are hundreds of smaller parties and celebrations all over the city. Every nightclub in the whole of Amsterdam camps it up for the weekend. If you want to experience the whole festival from the city centre you would do well to book your Amsterdam hostel months if not years in advance. Be prepared for a wild time and not much sleep!

Book your hostel in Amsterdam now before they are all booked out!