Cultural tips for Amsterdam Pride 2025

Pride Weekend Nieuw-West

Friday 11 to Sunday 13 July, 2025

Amsterdam Nieuw-West hosts a Pride Weekend packed with community spirit and a diverse cultural celebration. The festivities begin on Friday evening with the official opening at Sloterplasboulevard across from Theater de Meervaart. Come watch performances, speeches, drag, music and spoken word hosted by the legendary Dolly Bellefleur. The Brave New West neighbourhood party takes over Saturday and Sunday with a Women+ Girls Culture Stage at Standcafé Buiten. With food, drinks and an info market, this weekend is all about visibility, connection and celebrating LGBTQIA+ life in one of the city’s most diverse districts.

Pride Nieuw-West | Sloterplas, Nieuw-West

Queer in Oost x Transketeers: Three Queers and a Drag-Cow

Saturday 12 July, 2025 - 18:00

As part of the Queer in Oost programme, Plein Theater screens three short docu’s by film collective the Transketeers. The two short films “Alejandra” and “Mavi”  from the documentary series “I am not a number” tell the stories of trans women in the Netherlands with a migration background. “Piet & Soya” captures a poetic meeting of a drag cow and an intersex bull. Stay for the Q&A and also check the rest of the Queer in Oost program at Plein Theater with a comedy night, theatre and more movies.

Plein Theater | Oost

Willem & Frieda: Roze Verzet

18 July to 10 August, 2025 - 20:30

In the successor to the hit musical De Mol en de Paradijsvogel, queer resistance heroes Willem Arondéus and Frieda Belinfante finally take centre stage. Set in Hollywood in 1949, Frieda is confronted by the ghost of her old friend Willem, executed by the Nazis years earlier. Together, they revisit their role in the 1943 attack on Amsterdam’s population registry—a courageous act for which they were never recognised, largely due to their sexuality. This new musical by OpusOne brings their friendship, bravery and long-overdue legacy to life.

DeLaMar Theater | Centrum

Pink Sunday at Kwaku

Sunday 20 July, 2025 - 14:00-23:00

Kwaku Summer Festival is a grand celebration of cultural diversity and identity in the Zuidoost district. Culture, sports, and food are the primary forms of expression, with broad social participation and Surinamese origins as the pillars of the festival. Pink Sunday is known as one of the most extravagant days of Kwaku, where everyone is welcome to celebrate our culturally diverse city.

Pink Sunday at Kwaku I Nelson Mandela Park, Zuidoost

Queer Stories at Mezrab

Tuesday 22 & 29 July, 2025 - 20:00

Enjoy two nights of live queer storytelling curated by Joseph Kearney, Marijn Vissers, and Soula Notos. On 22 July, the theme is Resistance; on 29 July, it is Celebration. The evenings feature stories told by queer individuals in one of Amsterdam’s most beloved storytelling venues. Entry is free, and the crowd is always a mix of locals and curious travellers.

Mezrab | West

Lesbian Pubquiz at Lola the Green Aardvark

Thursday 24 July 2025

Start studying! Lola the Green Aardvark hosts a Queer Pub Quiz with a sapphic twist. Hosted by drag queen Nutella Versace and quizmaster Dixter, this night mixes serious LGBTQIA+ knowledge with playful rounds about queer culture in music, media, science and beyond. Expect six rounds, including a picture, music, and film reenactments round with an extra spotlight on lesbian history and pop culture. Be sure to make a reservation in advance for your trivia crew!Queer Pubquiz | Lola the Green Aardvark, Oost

In the Bushes

Friday 25 & Saturday 26 July, 2025 - 11:00 - 18:00

Performance artist Barnaby Savage presents a multisensory installation that explores queer intimacy in public and natural spaces. Part of Savage’s ongoing archival project “Cruising Stories,” the installation uses audio recordings, projection and natural materials, drawing on authentic cruising stories from the 1960s to today. Artist collective Nieuw en Meer is within walking distance of the official Amsterdam cruising area at Park de Oeverlanden.In the Bushes | Projectspace Kate, Oude Haagseweg 51, Nieuw-West

LoveSwim

Friday 26 July, 2025 - 17:00 - 23:00

Take a refreshing dip in the Amstel with LoveSwim: the queer swimming event of the year. LoveSwim takes place along the Amstel at Roeicentrum Berlagebrug. Organised by Choose the length you want to swim, cheer for your friends, and enjoy food and music on the waterfront. This year, you can swim for a good cause: LoveSwim collaborates with Aidsfonds, hoping to raise a good amount of money for a cause that is still very relevant. 

LoveSwim | Berlage Rowing Center, Oost

Rise of the Rainbow

Friday 26 July to Sunday 3 August, 2025 - 14:00 - 22:00 (45 min)

This immersive installation uses AR, live theatre, dance, music, and storytelling to guide visitors through decades of queer history. Set among oversized inflatable rainbow structures, performers guide visitors past major milestones like early Pride protests and the AIDS crisis. The experience features unique visuals and audio from the collections of Beeld & Geluid, IHLIA, and others.

Internationaal Theater Amsterdam (ITA) | Centrum

Open Air Cinema

Wednesday 30 & Thursday 31 July, 2025 (Mercatorplein), Friday 1 August (Gershwinplein), 18:00 - 00:00

This year, the Open Air Cinema pops up on the squares of two neighbourhoods for outdoor screenings of queer films. Mercatorplein and Gershwinplein will host a rainbow-powered movie experience for free, with 400 chairs available for all film lovers. There might be a bar to buy drinks, but don’t forget to bring your own snacks and popcorn. Enjoy with friends and family or make it a spontaneous date night!

Open Air Cinema | Mercatorplein/Gershwinplein, De Baarsjes/Zuid

Amber Vineyard's Queer Cabaret - Pearl Dive

Friday 1 August, 2025 - 20:00 - 23:00 (afterparty till 02:00)

After last year’s sold-out success, Amber Vineyard returns to Internationaal Theater Amsterdam. In this liquid space dedicated to Queer Female Figures, Lesbians, Non-Binary & Gender Non-Conforming beings, and those with Trans experiences, a dive is taken into the expansive spectrum of sexual identity and expression. Hot, queer, and divine shit, by and for Hot Queer Beings.

Internationaal Theater Amsterdam (ITA) | Centrum