“Support each other, lean on each other, and enjoy yourselves,” Queen Máxima of the Netherlands requested this Saturday, July 25, during the inauguration of World Pride 2026, which is being held for the first time in Amsterdam. In her speech, she asked: “Being able to be oneself, to love whoever you want. Isn’t that normal?” to then answer that, unfortunately, “that is not something to be taken for granted.” The wife of King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, who interrupted her vacation to attend the event, has been the first queen in royal history to lead an opening of this kind, thus showing her support for an event that aims to highlight the inclusion, visibility, and rights of the LGTBIQ+ community. The celebrations begin this Saturday and will last two weeks, until August 8, and the City Council estimates that up to one million people could attend the events.
Queen Máxima was received with applause upon her arrival at Amsterdam’s Vondelpark, the city’s largest urban park, and described her presence at the opening ceremony as “a historic moment.” She was accompanied by the city’s mayor, Femke Halsema, conversed with representatives of various organizations, and, according to local media, attended one of the events featuring drag queens. “It is an event that demands global attention for the visibility, emancipation, and rights of the LGBTQI+ community,” she stated. As reflected in the official palace agenda, she will also hold meetings with community representatives and learn about projects and initiatives firsthand, and has met with members of sports groups made up of people from the community. Among the events planned for this Saturday are the Pride Walk between Dam Square and Vondelpark, the traditional boat parade through the city’s canals, and concerts.
World Pride, in its English meaning, is celebrated every year in a different city. In 2025, it took place in Washington. It has arrived in Amsterdam 25 years after the Dutch capital hosted the first fully legal marriage between two people of the same sex worldwide. It was on April 1, 2001, when four couples married at the City Hall. This Saturday, the queen makes history by opening the celebrations from Vondelpark and reinforces the public commitment that the royal house has shown to this cause. In 2008, she participated, along with mayors and councilors, in a conference on the rights of people from the community, held in The Hague. In May 2013, she supported the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia. And in 2024, she did the same, this time with the Netherlands as host in collaboration with the Council of Europe. For his part, King Willem-Alexander visited the Amsterdam headquarters of COC, the oldest active LGTBIQ+ organization, which was celebrating its 70th anniversary, in 2016.
Read more A new breakdown leaves the R3 out of service, the line most affected by the Rodalies crisis
Amsterdam is celebrating, but, according to a survey conducted by the Dutch news agency ANP, public spaces with rainbow symbols, representing diversity, have been vandalized or graffitied in 29 municipalities across the country. This has occurred on zebra crossings, park benches, or bike lanes. Earlier this July, several Pride flags were destroyed in a district of the city.
Read more Salma Paralluelo signs for Lyon after four seasons at Barcelona
