Gay Pride Festival in Amsterdam (Day 11 #EuropeDulu)

By August 20, 2013November 21st, 2014Europe
It's party time at Amsterdam Gay Pride

We arrived in Amsterdam with not a clue what to expect and boy did we get a shock when we arrived. The city was absolutely packed and every hostel we tried was either full or required a 2 night booking with each night costing between 45 and 70€. 70€ for one person in a dorm! Oh my god! We soon discovered the reason why the city was so packed and the accommodation was so expensive – Amsterdam Gay Pride.

The stunning canals of Amsterdam

The stunning canals of Amsterdam

Beautiful Amsterdam architecture

Beautiful Amsterdam architecture

Amsterdam Gay Pride is an annual festival for Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Transgender people to celebrate their differences, but also as a statement that it is OK to be LGBT. The festival spans 3 days and its highlight is the parade along the stunning Amsterdam canals with many boats carrying the revelers – some dressed up, some dancing and some just happy to be there.

Music blaring from each of the floats prompts everyone to dance

Music blaring from each of the floats prompts everyone to dance

We had the opportunity to witness this amazing event and took a bunch of photos and videos.

The best bit about the festival is how happy everyone was. Not just the participants, but also the crowds who clapped and cheered as each new boat floated past. In The Netherlands, it’s OK to be gay.

Skimpy clothing is all the rage at gay pride

Skimpy clothing is all the rage at gay pride

That night, thousands of party-goers flooded the streets of central Amsterdam to drink, smoke and do whatever people do when they party in Amsterdam — it’s as much as free-for-all as you can get in a European country.

It's party time at Amsterdam Gay Pride

It’s party time at Amsterdam Gay Pride

For us, all this partying meant we had to stay out near the airport and pay a lot more for a hotel than we had planned. Even then, we had to move hotel for the second night as the hotel on the first night was booked for the second night. This basically meant that for us, our time was largely spent trying to figure out where to stay and not enjoying Amsterdam as much as we would have liked.

Crowds line the bridges and streets to see the floats

Crowds line the bridges and streets to see the floats

Still, we had a great time in Amsterdam witnessing Gay Pride Amsterdam. Before long, we were on our way from Amsterdam to the German city of Cologne where Gay Pride was but a distance memory.

Boats everywhere after the floats went by

Boats everywhere after the floats went by

Join the discussion 5 Comments

  • Emirta says:

    Wih Netherlands negara nya accepting banget ya mbak gay pride nya sampe padet banget gitu trs jadi yang pertama me-legal-kan gay marriage lagi… Is “me-legal-kan” even a word? xD #vickybulary haha 😉 nah saya sekalian mau cerita nih mbak saya punya kenalan lewat internet yang tinggal di Leeuwarden, Friesland. Tau Mata Hari kan mbak? spion WWI yang cantik dan dulu eksis di sini itu loh 🙂 dia punya museum di Leeuwarden, nah kemarin 19 oktober bangunan nya kebakar hangus mbak GARA2 VACUUM CLEANER DOANG MBAAK T_T temen saya langsung lapor gitu ke saya karena mata hari kan nama indo banget wkwk. sayang scrapbook2 sejarah nya dia kebakar semua ;-; udah segitu aja curhatnya heheheh 🙂 saya ikutan kuis Kartu Pos Gurun Sahara.Pilih saya ya mbak! 🙂 – @emirtch

  • Utie says:

    Hi Pergidulu!

    Waktu itu kita pernah ngobrol di twitter tentang festival ini ^^;

    Kebetulan saya ikutan open trip jadwal sampai sana 7 Agustus dan saya niatnya mau duluan kesana lebih cepat jadi saya sendiri tiba tanggal 5 karena mau santai2 dulu. Saya cek di trip advisor ada festival apa di Amsterdam bulan Agustus 2016, eehh.. taunya tanggal 5-7 ada Gay Pride, gimana saya mau santai yaa pasti crowded parah.. :’D mana saya belum booking airbnb pasti mahal juga akomodasinya

    Utie or princhesta@twitter

    • Adam says:

      wah…coba cek dari skrg kalo gitu, siapa tau masih ada airbnb yg murah. Palingan jangan cari yang pusat kota karena di pusat kota pasti mahal banget. Cari di pinggiran, murah tapi mmg butuh transport lagi. Daripada di kota biasanya bisa berkali-kali lipat harganya. Good luck!

      • Utie says:

        Bener juga ya mesti jauh2 hari juga bookingnya, moga2 sih masih ada yg masuk budgetnya.. Klo engga, mesti cari agak jauh

        Oke, makasih tipsnya yaa..

      • Utie says:

        Hi Susan dan Adam! Sekedar update, saya langsung beli tiket pesawat KL-Amsterdam PP bgitu nemu murah. Akhirnya saya dapet rumah melalui AirBnB di area yg agak minggir dari Amsterdam krn pasti ramenya ga tahan XD daerahnya di Utrecht dan masih masuk budget. Perdana pake AirBnB niih semoga cocok smpe seterusnya 😀

        – Utie or princhesta@twitter

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