Ingrid, one of the “regulars” on this website, filed this report after attending the Gay Pride Parade in Amsterdam. She hopes that you enjoy both the post and the pictures. Thank you Ingrid! I love both.
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According to the organisers and police, 560,000 people visited the event of the Amsterdam Gay Pride week – the Canal Parade, and I was one of them.
It is described as Queensday but more friendly and less alcohol. For the people outside Holland, Queensday is when we celebrate the Queen’s birthday and it takes place on April the 30th. For Amsterdam that means that the whole centre is converted into one big street party. The colour for Queensday is orange and for gay pride it is of course pink. Needless to say I was dressed accordingly in a bright pink shirt.
This year was the 14th time the Canal Parade took place. It is the main event in the Pride week and it’s followed by street parties throughout the city centre and closing party on Sunday. Sadly enough I did not have the time to go there.
Some say that the parade does not show the normal gay people, only the extravagant ones. The parade however is not only to show glorious naked bodies but also to create awareness amongst people. Just the week before, a gay man (one of the organisers!) was beaten up after saying goodbye (with a kiss on the cheek) to a friend after a night out. This shows that all is still not alright.
The boats showed this mixed view. Some were for fun only and other boats asked attention for the more serious side of gay life. The people on the boats are not only gays but also famous dutchies to give their support. And of course the most famous gay dutch people were on board as well.
The afternoon started well when a boat full with twinkies docked before the place I was standing on the bridge.
I don’t know why but I thought of Ally all the time.
The slogan of this boat is “Out Of The Closet Works Better” and it is sponsored by a labour organisation. Two groups on the boat were the marines and army. This year for the first time they were allowed to wear their uniform. 
A more serious boat was the one from HIVOS asking attention for gay rights across the globe. Especially for those countries were gays are still killed for being gay.
The winner of the day ( a jury selects the prettiest/ funniest/ best party/music boat whatever) was this boat A boat with Robin
Hoods. I see them all over the place these days and I wonder why?? I like these ones much better than the one showing in the Ugliest Cover part 2 post.:)
The dutch gay celebs and friends. The first person who can name one gets a postcard from Amsterdam *g*
Mr. B is apparently a world famous toy and leather shop. I looked that up. One of the tv commentators said “You see t-shirts of Mr. B all over the world.” Innocent me thought that it was a club here in Amsterdam. But when I looked it up on the net I came upon this web shop. So to all writers looking for toy inspiration look it up on there. It was the only boat with leather only. 
Real Extravaganza
The organisers of the Homo 100 I mentioned on the chatboard had their own boat on the parade. I love their show on the radio, it’s
funny and good music.
That was a small selection of the 80 boats that were taking part. At home, scrolling through my pictures I noticed that I had forgotten to take a picture of the boat with the Mayor of Amsterdam. He personally took the wedding vows of 5 Dutch-American couples. He wants it to be a message to the US where in most States gays are still not allowed to marry.
Also not showing are the boats from various political parties, companies, AIDS foundation and assorted clubs from across the country.
This is how 560,000 people look on the canal in Amsterdam. Well a small part of those.
That finishes my first Canal Parade. I was sunburned, had sore feet from standing still 5 hours but it was absolutely worth it. It was great fun to see all the people having fun on the boats and on the street. Next year I will go again.
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I made a short video clip to show some more and to let you hear what the parade sounds like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5hiruLHCEk
Ingrid
I had never seen a Gay Pride parade on the water and this is such a wonderful profusion of colour and boats. Great job!
Great commentary too.:)
I think it is way easier to have a parade on the water in Amsterdam then on the streets. *g*
Hi Ingrid,
great report and even better pictures. I’m missing close-ups of some of the guys though *g*
But it looks like everyone there had a lot of fun, especially when you watch the video. Great work! And the pictures reminded me that it has been a long since my last Amsterdam trip.
@Wave
We should have more videos on the site, maybe you could post some together with the Friday guys *winks* *g*
@Christian
So now you’re not satisfied with “still” pictures of the Friday Guys, you want videos? Will you bail me out of jail when the cops lock me up for lewd behaviour on the site?:)
I am standing on the bridge looking towards the Skinny bridge which you might know having been in town. The Amstel river is somewhat wide over there. So despite having a 10x zoom I could not really take people closer. Also the boats still come by rather fast. That’s why it would have been nice if I could have visited the street parties but I had other things to do that day.
How cool Ingrid. Looks like a fun time. I loved that boat for Homo 100 with all the colors. Now I am definitely going to our parade at the end of August so I can do a report for Wave. 🙂 You hear that Wave? Be ready. I’ll get some close-ups for Christian. 😀
@Tam
I heard you – but do you have boats in YOUR parade?:)
Wow, Ingrid. Looks like great fun as well as a brilliant way to put across a serious message.
Thanks for sharing :).
Ingrid, thanks for being the on-the-street (or on-the-canal!) reporter. It looks like a great time. I go to the SF parade often and it’s a blast, but I’ve never been to one with boats on the water. How fun!
Thanks Jen and Tam 🙂 I am glad you like it.
You should go Tam. It is great fun, although the canals will be seriously lacking of course.
We have a canal, ONE canal. LOL No, no boats in our parade I don’t think but I’m sure I can find SOMETHING interesting to take pics of. 😉
Now that looks like a fun day. I think I want to move to Holland, it seems like such a cool place. I’ve got a couple of online friends from Holland and they are cool too.
So the big question… how many people fell in the water? 😀
I am sure some have fallen in but some took a dive themselves because it was quite warm and they drank a bit too much beer or wine.
It was actually funny to see because the water police chased them out *g*
Woa go Ingrid! Very good review/recount of the day. I have a feeling I know which gay celebs you’re talking about and we can do without those 😛
Still miffed that I missed it. So going next year! Hmmmm videos!
Larissa, you are local and can’t join in the competition *g*
There is one more video on my page.
I know. That’s why I didn’t say anything.
A friend of mine went and she’s got great pictures
Great parade and pictures, what fun! Thanks for sharing Ingrid, I loved it.
Thanks for sharing, Ingrid. This looks like a fabulous event. I’ve been to a couple of Pride parades in Perth including a very memorable one where my cousin represented his high school. We were unbelievably proud of him and his efforts to promote the message of acceptance.
On a less serious note, those Robin Hoods are seriously cute. 🙂