Party canceled in Amstelfeld and boat show off until 5pm: these are Pride’s new plans

Pride with room for party, protest, and one-on-one. The revised policy framework for the Amsterdam Pride Festival, the annual festival of the LGBTIQ+ community, should result in an event that must be experienced by as many participants and visitors as possible. Today, the municipality announced the public policy framework.

sounding board set

The municipality’s old pride policy dates back to 2011. Since then, the zeitgeist and the rainbow community have changed a lot. This also emerged after extensive discussions with members of the LGBTIQ+ community in the so-called Dashboard group, which is included in the new policy framework. Several activist groups were represented here, who made strong criticisms of Current Pride. Neither the organizing party – the Pride Foundation Amsterdam – and the program excel in diversity.

The board approaches the sound board group and demands that the organization be an “inclusive and diversified organization.” Two specific target groups also receive special attention: transgender people and people with a cultural background. The last group consists of people who have ties to other cultures besides the Dutch.

The requirement that the pride regulator should be keen on diversity and inclusion has been around for some time, but is thus formally laid down in the new policy framework. In recent years, Pride Amsterdam has already paid a lot of attention within its own organization to revamping the Board of Directors, Management and Team of Ambassadors.

boat parade

The sounding board group has also expressed many criticisms of the boat’s march. He was accused of paying too much attention to commercial parties and white gay men. Part of the group wanted to radically change the boat parade or even delete it.

The boat parade has been a topic of debate within the rainbow community for some time:

But a broader survey of 953 people interviewed, both from within and outside the community and the city, shows that the boat parade is very popular. In general, people believe that supply should remain the same, according to researchers at R2 Research. However, more attention can be paid to other parts of the pride, according to the consensus.

So, the college doesn’t tinker with a parade of boats, the crown jewel for Pride Week. However, this won’t take long from now on: it should be over at 5 PM. Advertising messages, which have always been a nuisance to many visitors to the show, should be limited.

Amstelfeld

Another striking point is the cancellation of the concert in Amstelfeld. Located next to the intersection of Prinsengracht and Reguliersgracht, this square hosts one of the largest and most popular street parties. It would be a major inconvenience to the neighborhood. The organizer is offered to find an alternative site.

He points out that the college is aware of the pressure that pride puts on the center. The accompanying press release states that events “should not only occur in the centre.” For example, the new policy framework should not only give marginalized groups but also Amsterdam residents space during the Pride period.

to share

The policy isn’t final yet: Amsterdam residents are allowed to express their opinions about the plans until August 18. The new policy will be completed after the summer. The new policy will be in place from next year for a period of four years; So the 2022 pride falls under the current policy. Preparations for this year’s edition, which will run from Saturday 30 July to Sunday 7 August, are in full swing.