Amsterdam Celebrates 20th Anniversary Of Same-Sex Marriage Legalisation

Amsterdam same-sex marriage anniversary: Amsterdam celebrated the 20th-anniversary of the legalisation of same-sex marriages in the city.

On April 1, 2001, the mayor of Amsterdam had married four couples in City Hall. This made the Netherlands the first country in the world to legalise same-sex marriage.

To celebrate, an inflatable pink cake with candles that spouted rainbow flames was floating through the Amsterdam canals. A rainbow flag was also hung from the bell tower of the Wester Church, which is next to the Anne Frank House museum. An online symposium was also held, and the city designated a "rainbow walk" route consisting of 20 sites. The sites included in the "rainbow walk" are considered to be important in the struggle for LGBTQ rights in Amsterdam.

The mayor of Amsterdam Femke Halsema told The Associated Press that “It is a moment to recognise that the struggle is not over yet; not worldwide, not nationally, but also not in Amsterdam”.

Since the legalisation of same-sex marriage in the Netherlands 20 years ago, same-sex marriage has been legalised in 28 countries worldwide. In the Netherlands, there have been more than 18,000 same-sex marriages since it was legalised according to the Dutch Central Bureau of Statistics.

Gert Kasteel and Dolf Pasker are among the first four couples that got married on April 1, 2001. The wedding ceremony was led by the then-mayor Job Cohen. Pasker stated that “Nearly 30 countries followed the Netherlands so that’s really very nice. Very good for the gay people and for society as a whole.”

The Cultuur en Ontspanningscentrum (COC), Netherland’s largest LGBTQ rights organisation, stated that the Netherlands is still working toward full equality. In the statement, the organisation said that LGBTQ people “regularly face exclusion, violence and discrimination."

Pasker also spoke about discrimination and violence faced by members of the LGBTQ community. He stated that while he and his husband Kasteel do not face any issues, they know people that do.