WorldPride 2026 opens in Amsterdam with royal ceremony

Queen Maxima of the Netherlands formally opened WorldPride 2026 in Amsterdam on Saturday at a ceremony attended by drag queens and LGBTQ activists, as speakers warned about a backlash against LGBTQ rights in some countries.

Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema welcomed the queen at a stage carrying signs that read “Gay Rights = Human Rights” and “Stronger Together”. The city is due to host 300 WorldPride events until August 8, combining celebration with activism.

A Pride march marked the opening of the festival. Drag queen Lady Heineken also officiated at the renewal of vows by couples on a ferry.

Halsema said Pride should include both protest and celebration. She referred to countries such as Uganda, where homosexuality is criminalised, and to attacks faced by transgender people in other countries. She also said tolerance was declining and that the queer community was facing a backlash as it became more visible.

Patrick Simones, a 58-year-old train driver using the drag name Miss Spunt, said the situation for LGBTQ people had worsened in the Netherlands and urged support for Gay Pride. Vicente Rios Rios, a 57-year-old Mexican attending the march, said people should not forget that there are still places where people cannot be themselves.

Amsterdam’s city archives are marking WorldPride with a “Drag in Amsterdam” exhibition on the history and impact of drag culture in the Dutch capital. Curator Kadja Bijlmakers said the drag community played an important role during the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s and 1990s by raising awareness of safer sex practices and organising charity shows for hospitals. She said the city council wanted to show support for the queer community.