Huge crowds watch Amsterdam Pride’s canal parade celebration

Boats line up for the start as thousands of people lined canals in the Dutch capital to watch the colourful spectacle of the Pride Canal Parade in Amsterdam, Netherlands (Peter Dejong/AP)

Hundreds of thousands of spectators have lined Amsterdam’s historic canals to celebrate Canal Parade, a flotilla of 80 brightly decorated boats packed with partying and singing people waving rainbow flags, balloons and umbrellas.

The boats representing rights groups, bars, clothing brands and even the Dutch military made their way slowly through the waterways in a resumption of the hugely popular LGBTQ Pride event, which was cancelled for two years amid the Covid-19 pandemic.