Throughout Amsterdam’s history, LGBTQIA+ people have created, celebrated, and fought for their communities, for themselves, and for the wider world. We celebrate Pride by reveling in their stories.
Our 90-minute walk – Queer Heroes for Amsterdam Pride – through the beautiful UNESCO World Heritage Canal Belt is an immersion in all that queer people have done throughout the centuries. It ends with a beautiful sunset view – just in time to dive into Pride partying! Learn more and plan your celebrations below!
Special Amsterdam Pride Tour (July 8 – August 8)
As part of World Pride 2026, we’re spending every evening reveling in the stories of our communities’ heroes while walking through the beautiful canal belt.
DURATION: 1.5 hours (7:30 – 9pm)
Special Amsterdam Pride Tour
(July 8 – August 8)
As part of World Pride 2026, we’re spending every evening reveling in the stories of our communities’ heroes while walking through the beautiful canal belt.
DURATION: 1.5 hours (7:30 – 9pm)
While planning an international event always has many competing interests, WorldPride simply had to be in Amsterdam in 2026. This year, Amsterdam is celebrating both an international anniversary and a local one. The world’s first gay marriage happened here 25 years ago.
News – and photos! – of the first queer marriage in the world were both a beacon of hope and a call to action for queer communities everywhere. What had previously seemed impossible had actually happened. And if it could happen in Amsterdam, they could work to make it happen in their city.
Amsterdam is also celebrating 30 years of its iconic canal parade. What began as a small but noisy celebration to prepare the city to host the Gay Games has become a massive party that takes over the city. There are spectacles like boats of exquisitely dressed drag queens and performers dressed as fairies flying high over the canal. There are also boats stuffed with ordinary people celebrating.
You can read more about these important anniversaries via the IGLTA article we guest wrote.
We offer our Queer Heroes tour during Pride to celebrate the best our community has to offer. However, there are way too many queer subjects for a single tour. Here are some other ways to celebrate with Amsterdam’s stories:
To get a sense of the community’s ups and downs, our LGBTQ+ History Tour puts some heroic stories in the context of the challenges the community faced across the years. It’s an important reminder that the Netherlands was never predestined to be a gay rights pioneer; it happened because of individual people. (And it’s available year-round rather than just for Pride.)
Small-Group Walking Tour
The world’s first gay marriage was officiated by the Mayor of Amsterdam at its City Hall. But did you know that the city’s LGBTQ+ history stretches centuries? Meet historical Amsterdammers across the gender spectrum and sexual orientations.
Small-Group Walking Tour
The world’s first gay marriage was officiated by the Mayor of Amsterdam at its City Hall. But did you know that the city’s LGBTQ+ history stretches centuries? Meet historical Amsterdammers across the gender spectrum and sexual orientations.
There’s still so much more to explore. Our Women’s History Tour includes a trans woman who didn’t fit on our LGBTQIA+ tours, as well as another celebration of a lesbian hero. Our Hidden Gems Tour looks at queer heroes alongside BIPOC, female and Jewish Amsterdammers who made a difference.
If you have a specific interest such as art, World War II or Black and Asian history, our Customized Private Tour is the way to go. We can build a tour where you want and about what specifically interests you. Check it out!
There are several media outlets that have covered what we do (you can see more here), but here are couple of the articles recommending us for Pride this year, as well as a podcast where we dive into some examples of this history.
Media platform: Gaydio
Topic: Article about top ways to celebrate WorldPride 2026, including Badass Tours’ Queer Heroes for Amsterdam Pride tour
May 2026
Magazine: männer* (in German)
Topic: Article about VIVA cruises, World Pride, and Badass Tours’ Queer Heroes for Amsterdam Pride tour
April 13, 2026
Podcast: History of the Netherlands
Topic: Interview about the LGBTQ+ history of the Netherlands
June 18, 2025
In the beginning, many countries followed the US in celebrating Pride on the last weekend in June in a hat-tip to New York’s Stonewall riot. The Netherlands still has an event called Roze Zaterdag (Pink Saturday) that goes to villages around the country to introduce LGBTQIA+ identity to people who don’t see it in their daily lives.
The Netherlands’ major queer event, however, is the Pride Canal Parade, which happens on the first Saturday in August. Why? Read our blog post to find out!
There is always so much to do in Amsterdam in the two weeks around Pride. With this year’s World Pride and events beginning a month before, everyone’s plans are on overdrive. First and foremost, of course, are the street parties that seem to break out spontaneously during the Canal Parade, not to mention the parade itself.
And if you want to hear about more queer people across history, you can check out our historical advice column, Ask a Badass.
