Sawt Falasteen - WorldPride gets a royal welcome amid warnings for LGBTQ community

The Dutch monarch formally opened WorldPride 2026 in front of drag queens and other LGBTQ activists in the city on Saturday, amidst warnings over the backlash the community has faced in some countries.

"Your majesty, today you are not alone," Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema told the ceremony. "You are here in the company of queens from all backgrounds. Welcome to the queens!"

Maxima and Halsema stood on a stage where placards declared "Gay Rights = Human Rights" and "Stronger Together". Until August 8, the city will host 300 events that mix the joyous pomp of pride gatherings held around the world with the activism that many LGBTQ leaders say is still needed.

A pride march was held to mark the opening of the festival while drag queen Lady Heineken officiated at the renewal of vows by couples on a ferry.

- "Protest and celebration" -

"It's often said we must choose between protest and celebration. I don’t buy that. A soulless celebration is nothing. A protest without joy is far less powerful," Halsema said in a passionate opening address.

The mayor also highlighted countries like Uganda where homosexuality is criminalised and other countries where transgenders have faced attacks as she called for vigilance to protect rights acquired by the LGBTQ community.

Halsema urged people to "look at ourselves, because yes, tolerance is on the wane. The queer community is becoming more visible, more joyful, present everywhere. But there is also a backlash," she declared.

Patrick Simones, a 58-year-old train driver wearing a hat adorned with rainbow feathers and going by the drag queen sobriquet "Miss Spunt", said the situation for LGBTQ people has deteriorated in the Netherlands.

"People are being bashed, trashed and cursed," he told AFP, urging the nation to support Gay Pride so that it could become "a great gay land again".

"We cannot forget that there are still places where you still cannot be yourself," said Vicente Rios Rios, a 57-year-old Mexican attending the march.

- 'Drag in Amsterdam' -

A "Drag in Amsterdam" exhibition at the city archives is marking WorldPride by offering a retrospective of the history and impact of drag culture in the Dutch capital.

"During the 1980s and 1990s, at the height of the AIDS epidemic, the drag community played a truly vital role in raising public awareness of safer sex practices and also organised numerous charity shows to raise funds for specific hospitals," said Kadja Bijlmakers, 30, the exhibition’s curator.

"As a city council, we want to show that we stand alongside the queer community and fully support it," she concluded.

N.Awad--SF-PST