nrc.nl - International - Features - Gay Pride has 'widened and deepened'
"It's still a party. But partying and fighting for what you believe in are not mutually exclusive," says Frank van Dalen, director of Pro Gay, the company behind the Gay Pride celebrations in Amsterdam. The 14th edition of Gay Pride will see eighty boats converge on Amsterdam's canals. Thirty of them have a "heavy message", says Van Dalen, with themes like violence against homosexuals or the emancipation of Christian homosexuals. There are also "political" boats like that of Amsterdam mayor Job Cohen or Labour minister Ronald Plasterk, whose portfolio includes homosexual emancipation. "Gay Pride has widened and deepened," says Van Dalen. In 2009, Gay Pride is looking more socially responsible than ever before. That shows not just in the number and type of boats in the Canal Parade, but also in the surrounding activities during the week. The university of Amsterdam is showing a collection of rare homosexual books, for instance, and the Hermitage museum laid on on a special gay day.
"It's still a party. But partying and fighting for what you believe in are not mutually exclusive," says Frank van Dalen, director of Pro Gay, the company behind the Gay Pride celebrations in Amsterdam.
The 14th edition of Gay Pride will see eighty boats converge on Amsterdam's canals. Thirty of them have a "heavy message", says Van Dalen, with themes like violence against homosexuals or the emancipation of Christian homosexuals. There are also "political" boats like that of Amsterdam mayor Job Cohen or Labour minister Ronald Plasterk, whose portfolio includes homosexual emancipation.
"Gay Pride has widened and deepened," says Van Dalen.
In 2009, Gay Pride is looking more socially responsible than ever before. That shows not just in the number and type of boats in the Canal Parade, but also in the surrounding activities during the week. The university of Amsterdam is showing a collection of rare homosexual books, for instance, and the Hermitage museum laid on on a special gay day.
