AMSTERDAM — Hundreds of thousands of spectators lined Amsterdam’s historic canals Saturday to celebrate Canal Parade, a flotilla of 80 brightly decorated boats packed with partying and singing people waving rainbow flags, balloons and umbrellas.
The boats representing rights groups, bars, clothing brands and even the Dutch military made their way slowly through the waterways in a resumption of the hugely popular LGBTQ Pride event after two years canceled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are looking forward to a special edition where ‘being who you are and loving who you want’ is the norm and the struggle for equal rights is the message,” Amsterdam Pride director Lucien Spee de Castillo Ruiz said.