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Plan your gay travels for Gay Pride Amsterdam with coupleofmen.com! – It is time to prepare for the colorful gay pride parade in Amsterdam the year after Euro Pride under this year’s motto ‘This Is My Pride’ and this is your Pride! The canal parade as the highlight of the annually LGBTQ+ Pride Celebrations is well known all around the world for its extravagantly dressed canal boats, spectacular glitter-dance performances, and a special gay-friendly cultural Pride program. Although the parade is the highlight of Amsterdam Pride, there are far more events and celebrations planned in 2018.

As gay travel bloggers living in the capital of the Netherlands, we have a special interest in telling you all about the Amsterdam Gay Pride Program 2018. To add to that, we will talk about our highlights of the Pride Week and provide you with some tips for the best parties and where and how you can enjoy Amsterdam Pride at its best. We hope you will find all the answers to your questions about your gay travels to Amsterdam while enjoying meeting gay, lesbian, and queer people from all over the world and seeing the Dutch capital through a couple of men‘s eyes. And don’t miss our best photos of the Gay Pride Amsterdam 2018 Canal Parade. Happy Pride Amsterdam 2018!

>> Click here for our 50 photos and Videos of the Amsterdam Gay Pride 2017 <<

Gay Pride Amsterdam 2018: Program, Highlights, Tips © CoupleofMen.com[/caption]

(Gay) Amsterdam Pride Highlights 2018

July 28th, 2018 | Pride Walk  & Youth Pride Walk

The official Start of the Gay Pride Amsterdam Week 2018 will be celebrated with the annual Pride Walk. The open-minded and colorful demonstration will start at 11 am at the Westerkerk/Homomonument. We will walk together with LGBTQ+ people and their allies from all over the world in a colorful and festive parade of love from the Homomonument to the Vondelpark. Everyone is invited to join the Pride Walk marching peacefully together and to stand up for equal human rights all over the world. After arriving at the destination, the opening event ‘Pride Park’ will start at the Vondelpark. At the same time (for the first time ever), the Gay Pride Amsterdam organization is planning together with LGBTQ+ supportive organizations a Youth Pride Walk & Park event. This special event is meant to provide young LGBTQ+ people between 12 and 26 years old) a safe opportunity to celebrate their pride during the one-week Amsterdam Gay Pride festival 2018. More Infos: Official Facebook Event Page >

• Date: Saturday, 28th of July 2018
• Get together: 11 am
• Start Pride Walk: 12 am
• Location: Homomonument / Westermarkt / Westerkerk to Vondelpark, Amsterdam

July 28th, 2018 | Pride Park Opening Vondelpark

The so-called “Roze Zaterdag” (Pink Saturday) at Vondelpark was such a great success in 2016, that there had to be more editions to come. Under the name “Pride Park”, the Vondelpark will once again turn pink for love and will be the place to host all colors of LGBTQ+ activities. Following up the Pride Walk from the Homomonument to Vondelpark, the rainbow celebrations will start after 2 pm with a huge rainbow market where you can do a great gay travel shopping or just inform yourselves about gay, lesbian, and queer-related organizations and societies in Amsterdam. Last year, everyone who came dressed in a sports outfit is invited to participate in self-defense courses or can play with other gay men and queer people some Rugby and Volleyball. Women will even be able to participate in a Volleyball tournament. In 2017, we had the chance to take selfies in one of the bicultural and lesbian photo frames all around the park in the center of Amsterdam. Young LGBTQ+ people can meet up at a silent-disco while making delicious non-alcoholic cocktails or are invited to participate in even more activities. The heart of the “Pride Park” will be the open-air theater as a stage for various artists and Dutch LGBTQ+ surprise guests. More Infos: Official Facebook Event Page >

• Date: Saturday, 28th of July 2018
• Get together: 13 pm
• End: 23 pm
• Location: Vondelpark, Amsterdam

July 30th to August 1st, 2018 | Pride at the Beach

Last year for the first time ever, Gay Pride Amsterdam organized a Pride event at the beach. On Monday, the 30th of July, everyone is invited to meet at Stationsplein in Zandvoort aan Zee between 1 pm and 2 pm. Zandvoort, the colorful LGBTQ+ crowd will be expected with a decorated car with music to start a Beach Street Parade through the village to the beach stopping at the city hall starting at 3 pm. After a welcome by the mayor, the rainbow flag will be raised marking the official beginning of the Opening Party on Raadhuisplein. A variety of stages will provide the Pride at the Beach with music by different DJs and acts throughout the Zandvoort and along the beach. Also on Tuesday, July 31st and Wednesday, August 1st, the village will be pink colored with diverse activities at the beach. For more information, check the Amsterdam Pride Website (bottom of this page). More about: Official Facebook Pride at the Beach Page >

• Opening Date: July 30th Pink Monday Opening Party on Raadhuisplein
• Events: July 30th Big Beach Party at Mango’s Beach Bar Zandvoort
• Events: August 1st Closing Party & fireworks at 23 Club Nautique Zandvoort

August 1st & 2nd, 2018 | Open Air Cinema

Pride Amsterdam invites you to visit the Mecatorplein (western part of Amsterdam) to attend the Open Air Cinema days 2018. There are 300 seats at your disposal, so don’t be late! Please note, this year we have changed location, this year for the first time the Open Air Cinema on the Mercatorplein in West. More Infos: Official Facebook Event Page >

Wednesday, August 1st, 2018 at 9 pm – 11:30 pm “MOONLIGHT

Thursday, August 2nd, 2018 at 9 pm – 11:30 pm “RAZZIA”

August 2nd, 2018 | Senior Pride Concert

SeniorPride is a musical revue as a tribute to LGBT seniors at Restaurant-Cafe In de Waag at Nieuwmarkt after its location in 2017 on the canal in front of Paleis van de Weemoed (Palace of Nostalgia) in Amsterdam. It brings together an entire own alphabet of LGBTIQ during Pride Amsterdam 2018, asking for each letter what Pride means for them and to interpret it in a song. Furthermore, the girl group “BB Bootleg”, DJ Ronnie Retro and the Raoulala’s Dancers will perform at the concert. More Infos: Official Facebook Event Page >

• Date: Thursday, 2nd of August 2018
• Start: 6 pm to 11 pm
• Location: Restaurant-Cafe In de Waag Nieuwmarkt 4, Amsterdam

August 3rd, 2018 | Drag Olympics Homomonument

This year’s Pride Amsterdam Drag Olympics will mark the 14th edition of the International Drag Olympics, the world’s premier sporting event for drag queens and kings in the heart of Amsterdam at the Westerkerk / Homomonument starting at 6 pm. The crème de la crème of the drag athletes will battle it out for Olympic Gold. We are excited because traditional sports like the Stiletto Sprint and the Handbag Toss will be supplemented by new events. Qualified beauticians will be available to assist competitors and to be on hand for any cosmetic emergency. At 9 pm it will be time for The Afterparty with some of the finest drag DJs, MCs & performers! Free entrance and bring friends and gay-friendly allies for even more fun! Our Tip: Be on time for a good spot! More Infos: Official Facebook Event Page >

LINE-UP of the Drag Olympics 2018:
18:00 – 19:00 DJ Priszilla
19:00 – 21:00 14th Drag Olympics
21:00 – 21:30 DJ Priszilla
21:30 – 22:30 DJ Eljany
22:30- 00:00 DJ Moog
MC: Tjo Kwan

Performances: Deedee Janssens, JJ Cox, Slet Lana
The judge of the games will be: Viola Volt and the Secretary of the games is Alex Kain.
The show will be presented by Lolo Benzina and Tabitha.

High heel run Drag Olympics Amsterdam 2016

Jennifer Hopeless spinning around the Drag Olympics Amsterdam 2016

August 3rd & 4th, 2018 | HeBiHo VrijMiBo & Our LOVE

HeBiHo VrijMiBo – Amsterdams biggest open-air event “Friday Afternoon Drinks” the day before Amsterdam’s Canal Parade 2018! Artists, DJs, and performer like Brian S, Darcy Doogan, Doppelgang, Daan Steures, Fafi Abdel Nour, House of Vineyard,  LUPE, Valentijn De Hingh, and WANNABEASTAR. The event is officially part of Pride Amsterdam 2018 and is welcoming LGBT people and their allies to love whoever you want to love.

Our LOVE – The big party after the boat parade on the Prinsengracht takes place on Amsterdam Amstelveld with Stars and DJs from the capitals gay- and underground scene like Carlos Valdes & Sandrien, Cormac,  Daan Groeneveld, TITIA, Tess, Rebelle, Nancy Goreng, Fais le Beau, Shamiro, and House of Vineyard. Happy Pride 2018!

Tips: Free entrance, own drinks not allowed but you can purchase drinks paying cash or by card, toilet use one-time payment 1 € and then free with a stamp, and please respect the neighborhood as the event will take place in the heart of the city.

• Friday 3rd of August – 5 pm to 11:59 pm | Amstelveld
• Saturday 4th of August – 4 pm to 11:59 pm | Amstelveld

August 4th, 2018 | Canal Parade 2018 Amsterdam

>> 12:30 pm Scheepvaart museum to 17 pm Westerdock <<

Pay Attention: This year’s canal pride parade 2018 will take the reverse route again compared to the years before 2017 from East to West. The boats will gather around the Scheepvaart Museum and will move towards Amstel. From there the dressed canal boats will take the Prinsengracht towards Westerdok. If you are looking for the best photo opportunities Gay Pride Amsterdam, come early because the best spots are usually taken already hours before the parade an. Find your best spots along the sides of the bridges like the most popular spots the Prinsengracht and at the Magere Brug on Amstel river. For more info to get prepared for the parade, have a look on our blog for the Gay Pride Tips.

All about traveling Amsterdam, the Netherlands:

Amsterdam, especially in summer time, is one of the most beautiful cities of Europe. Besides the variety of museums and churches, wandering around the city’s canals and enjoying the canal boats cruising by is one of the things that makes the Dutch city in Noord-Holland so special, so magical. But can you run your own canal cruise boat? Where are the best places to go for a bike tour? What are the gay-friendly places all around Amsterdam? You can find the answers to these and more questions in our gay travel articles about Amsterdam and the Netherlands:

• • • Our Gay Couple City Weekend Amsterdam
    • All about the Gay Couple Travels to Amsterdam
    • Tips for your Gay Travels around the Netherlands
    • Our Tips: What to do in Amsterdam during a City Trip?

More Articles for a Trip to Gay Pride Amsterdam: