For the first time, WorldPride is coming to Amsterdam. From July 25 through August 8, 2026, the Dutch capital will host the biennial global event, organized by InterPride, alongside its own EuroPride celebration under the shared theme “UNITY.” The city becomes the ninth WorldPride host since the inaugural edition in Rome in 2000, following Jerusalem, London, Toronto, Madrid, New York, Copenhagen, Sydney, and most recently Washington, D.C., in 2025.

The timing carries extra weight: 2026 marks 25 years since the Netherlands became the first country in the world to open civil marriage to same-sex couples, on April 1, 2001. Organizers have built the nine-day festival around that milestone, framing WorldPride Amsterdam as both a celebration and a call to action as LGBTQIA+ rights face pressure in many parts of the world.

The program spans more than 300 activities, including an opening EuroPride March and Pride Park gathering at Vondelpark on July 25, an open-air queer film festival running July 28–31 across several city squares, a Senior Pride concert honoring older LGBTQIA+ community members on July 30, and street parties at more than a dozen locations across the city on July 31 and August 1. The centerpiece Canal Parade takes place August 1 on the Prinsengracht, with organizers building a temporary 10,000-seat “WorldPride Stadium” along the canal for spectators. The festival closes August 8 with a WorldPride March and Closing Concert at Museumplein, alongside a multi-day WorldPride Village and a human rights conference at the Beurs van Berlage from August 5–7.

Amsterdam’s bid was made possible through Pride Amsterdam’s membership in InterPride since 2011. Looking further ahead, InterPride has already confirmed that WorldPride will head to Cape Town in 2028, marking the event’s first stop on the African continent.