AMSTERDAM (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of spectators lined Amsterdam’s historic canals on Saturday to celebrate Canal Parade, a flotilla of 80 brightly decorated boats filled with revelers and singers waving rainbow flags, balloons and umbrellas.
Boats representing rights groups, bars, clothing brands and even the Dutch military have slowly cruised the waterways in a revival of the hugely popular LGBTQ Pride event after two years of cancellation amid of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We look forward to a special edition where ‘being who you are and loving who you want’ is the norm and fighting for equal rights is the message,” said Amsterdam Pride director Lucien Spee de Castillo. Ruiz.
Spectators were packed in severals along the canals and on the bridges to watch the 25th version of the parade which was the culmination of a nine-day Pride event in the Dutch capital.
At the start of the event, police stopped a boat supporting farmers who have been protesting for weeks against government plans to cut nitrogen emissions. Only 80 boats were allowed to participate in the event, and they had to register in advance.
The farmers’ boat was decorated with flags saying ‘Proud Farmers’ and ‘No Farmers, No Food’. On board was one person in a cow costume and others wearing pink clogs and pink cowboy hats.
Peter Dejong, Associated Press
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