Amsterdam Celebrates Gay Pride With Boat Parade
August 8, 2010 /LGBT News/ An estimated 500,000 people gathered along Amsterdam's historic canals joining the Gay Pride parade despite heavy rain, the highlight of a week of activities including concerts, art exhibitions and film festivals. The theme for this year's parade was "Celebrate".
Alongside the 80 or more boats laden with scantily-clad party-goers, the parade through the city’s canals included vessels from political and government organizations demonstrating their support for gay rights. Amsterdam’s newly-elected mayor Eberhard van der Laan was among those who took part and recorded a special filmed message to welcome everyone to the event.
"We want to celebrate the fact that this is the 15th year we have organized Gay Pride in Amsterdam," said Philip Tijsma, a spokesman for the gay rights group COC.
There are around one million gays and lesbians in the Netherlands, and in 2001 it became the first country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage.
Photo: Peter More
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It has come along way since my last pride in Amsterdam in 1977 when 500 of us marched down the Leidseplein