Why Amsterdam is the perfect city to host WorldPride 2026

As the Netherlands’ capital gears up to put on hundreds of events in honour of the LGBTQ+ community, Calum McSwiggan weighs in on why he thinks there’s no better place for the bi-annual celebration to take place The Independent's journalism is supported by our readers. When you purchase through links on our site, As the Netherlands’ capital gears up to put on hundreds of events in honour of the LGBTQ+ community, Calum McSwiggan weighs in on why he thinks there’s no better place for the bi-annual celebration to take place I ’ve celebrated Pride in over 30 countries, and alongside Sydney and Sao Paulo’s celebrations, Amsterdam Pride is in my top three.

This year, the Netherlands’ capital is hosting WorldPride, a global celebration of LGBTQ+ identities that takes place in a different host city every two years. With a commitment to rolling out the rainbow carpet to queer travellers from all over the world, Amsterdam will be hosting 15 days of events from 25 July to 8 August 2026, and is promising a bigger and better festival than has ever been seen before. I’m confident it will go down in the queer history books.

The biggest and most obvious draw is its Canal Parade – instead of a traditional Pride march, Amsterdam does something different and hosts the queer community on its canals. With dozens of boats decked out in rainbow colours sailing alongside the picturesque streets, you can expect eccentric costumes, showers of glitter, and all manner of performers vying for your attention. To accommodate the anticipated boom of international tourists, this year, a WorldPride Stadium is being built which will provide an additional 10,000 seats right along the front of the canals.

8 best LGBT+ hotels in Amsterdam for luxury, budget and boutique stays Each boat in the parade carries a different theme that celebrates the intersections that make the queer community so colourful. There’s the Senior Pride boat hailing the oldest members of our community, plus boats such as Asian Pride and Gay Expats celebrating the city’s diversity. Other boats serve as a form of protest.

Take the “Kissing Couple” – perhaps this year’s most anticipated float, set to feature a giant depiction of Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin sharing a same-sex kiss. It wouldn’t be WorldPride without ruffling a few international feathers. But while the Canal Parade is certainly spectacular, it’s not the main reason I love Amsterdam Pride so much.

Rather, it’s the fact that it’s one of the only Prides I’ve attended where it truly feels like the celebrations stretch to every corner of the city. Amsterdam’s celebrations span dozens of official stages and events that cover its central squares and plazas – but beyond this, the residents of the city take it upon themselves to turn every street into a party. You’ll find both the rainbow and trans Pride colours flying from every building, music blasting from open windows, people dancing on their porches and balconies, and a feeling of love in the air that is absolutely unmatched.

I’m always amazed by the lengths people go to make strangers feel welcome, and the unrivalled creativity on display. Last year, one man set up an ironing board outside his house, offering to iron Pride flags for free, while another group were cropping and bedazzling T-shirts in exchange for nothing more than wishes of a “happy Pride”. I was attending the celebrations solo, and very quickly found myself invited onboard the party boat of a bunch of queer women I’d just met.

They offered me a drink, and when I explained I was sober, one of them opened a bottle of non-alcohol fizz that they were keeping in the cooler “just in case”. The beautiful thing is that Amsterdam isn’t just like this during Pride. It always feels effortlessly queer-friendly, with Pride flags flying year-round.

It makes sense when you consider The Netherlands’ track record of LGBTQ+ rights. The country was the first in the world to legalise same-sex marriage (this year marks the 25th anniversary of the milestone) and the first to raise a monument dedicated to people facing LGBTQ+ persecution. As an LGBTQ+ person, visiting the same places isn’t boring – it’s vital The Homomonument was first built as a memorial to LGBTQ+ people killed in the holocaust, but now it stands as a powerful symbol for all those queer people still suffering persecution today. The city is also home to one of the oldest queer spaces in the world.