But the main event is the main pride weekend which is from Friday the 2nd of August 2019 til Sunday the 4th of August with the Canal Parade 2019 as highlight.

The Canal Parade 2019 is an amazing sight. Over the top decorated boats pass by the canals of Amsterdam right in the historic center of the city. All the boats play their own music and are loaded with dancing people. To keep the Gay Parade manageable there’s a selection and the judges picked out the 80 most amazing boats to participate in the Canal Parade 2019. So you can expect some crazy dressed up boats passing by.

These are all the participants of the Canal Parade 2019

Theme of the Canal Parade 2019.

This year the theme is ‘Remember the past, create the future’. With this theme we commemorate the Stonewall riots that broke out in New York 50 years ago and form a dividing line in the history of the LGBT movement. A year later, in 1970, the world’s first Pride Parade was held in New York.

Canal Parade 2019 route

The Canal Parade 2019 will start on Saturday 3 August at the Oosterdok (Scheepsvaart museum) at about 12.30 pm. From there the boats will go to Nieuwe Herengracht, Amstel, Prinsengracht and the parade will end up at Westerdok at around 5.30 pm.

This means the Canal Parade will pass a lot of highlights of Amsterdam, the city center and canals. So there are enough spots where you can post to watch the Canal Parade.

But do keep in mind you won’t be the only one wanting to see the boats pass by so it will be busy. So come early if you want to have a first row spot to watch the Gay Parade.

The boats will pass the Prinsengracht at about 1.30 pm. But also the Magere Brug at the Amstel is a great spot to watch the boats pass by.