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2026-07-26 20:43 UTC → 2026-07-26 21:59 UTC ·
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June saw regional Pride launches, a 20,000‑person parade in Eindhoven, a town‑hall walk and drag shows in Zutphen, and the free “Queer Amsterdam” exhibition. The official opening on On 25 July in Vondelpark’s open‑air theatre was led by Queen Máxima—the Máxima inaugurated WorldPride 2026 in Amsterdam’s Vondelpark, becoming the first reigning monarch European queen to inaugurate WorldPride—and Mayor Femke Halsema, who highlighted freedom, equality and open the right to love. Máxima wore a gold laurel headpiece; about international LGBTQ+ celebration. Around 10,000 participants joined the opening Pride Walk Walk, and organisers expect anticipate up to one million visitors during the two‑week programme, coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the Netherlands’ 2001 same‑sex‑marriage law. which runs until 8 August. The opening occurred took place hours after a violent vehicle‑ramming and stabbing attack at Berlin Pride, where a white van driven by 21‑year‑old Abdul Ballout rammed into a crowd Pride in the Tiergarten, killing where one woman person was killed and injuring dozens. at least 29 injured. German police identified the 21‑year‑old Abdul Ballout as the suspect and classified the act incident as Islamist‑motivated terrorism. In response, terrorism; he was shot dead during a raid on a garden plot in Spandau on 26 July. Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema announced extra security measures to be deployed as needed throughout the festival, for WorldPride, coordinated by police, the mayor’s office with police and the public prosecutor. prosecutor, while Rotterdam Mayor Carola Schouten expressed solidarity with the Berlin LGBTQ+ community. The following day, German police raided a garden plot in Spandau and shot Ballout dead. The festival’s schedule continues with concerts, the Canal Parade, a human‑rights conference, a Rainbow Market, events for vulnerable groups such as LGBTQ+ asylum seekers, and the International Pride Awards on 6 August, which awarded €10 000 grants to five activists.