Thousands expected in Amsterdam for boisterous WorldPride in shadow of Berlin attack

AMSTERDAM - Hundreds of thousands of revellers will line Amsterdam’s canals on Aug 1 for the flagship event of WorldPride, promising a boisterous LGBT celebration that organisers say is particularly urgent after last week’s deadly attack on Berlin’s Pride.

Scores of boats festooned with rainbow flags and balloons are expected to cruise through the city while huge crowds in colourful outfits cheer from the bank.

The canal parade is the annual highlight of Amsterdam Pride, which was picked to host WorldPride this year by fellow Pride organisers from around the globe. The slogan for the two weeks of events across the Netherlands is “UNITY”.

Visible and covert security measures

Mayor Femke Halsema said Amsterdam would take unspecified extra measures in response to the attack in Berlin, where one person was killed and more than 30 injured when a van was driven into a crowd by a suspect later shot dead by German police. Dutch police said both visible and covert security measures would be deployed.

A spokesperson for Amsterdam Pride said that all preparations for the event were going to plan, and extra security would not change the focus, which was still on inclusivity.

“The aim of terrorism is to spread fear, and we must not give in to that,” spokesperson Martijn Albers said.

Berlin attack shows importance of pride

A memorial service for victims of the Berlin Pride attack takes place at the Homomonument in Amsterdam on July 28. PHOTO: REUTERS

Julianne van der Heide, 25, who will be out on a boat on Aug 1, said the Berlin attack only proved “how important and necessary Pride still is to this day”.

On July 28, thousands of people attended a ceremony for the victims of the Berlin attack, laying flowers at Amsterdam’s “Homomonument”, a canalside memorial to victims of anti-gay oppression, formed of pink granite triangles.

The Berlin attack would be at the back of everyone’s mind, said Caspar Pisters of the Dutch HIV Association, but added: “As long as there are people, there will be LGBTQ+ people, and no amount of violence, not even a million bombs, can change that.”

Mick Groeneveld from Queer Museum, a group working to establish a permanent LGBT museum in the Netherlands, said the attack highlighted the community’s vulnerability.

“At the same time, making ourselves invisible is not the answer.” REUTERS