{"id":51817,"date":"2026-03-21T13:54:06","date_gmt":"2026-03-21T12:54:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ket.brussels\/?p=51817"},"modified":"2026-03-21T13:54:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-21T12:54:09","slug":"brussels-pride-from-gay-pride-to-belgian-pride-to-a-city-that-owns-its-colors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ket.brussels\/en\/2026\/03\/21\/brussels-pride-from-gay-pride-to-belgian-pride-to-a-city-that-owns-its-colors\/","title":{"rendered":"Brussels Pride: from Gay Pride to Belgian Pride to a city that owns its colors"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In 30 years, Brussels has gone from a small \u201cGay Pride\u201d marched by a few thousand people to Brussels Pride \u2013 In the Capital of Europe, a politically charged, internationally visible event recognised as intangible cultural heritage. From Gay Pride to Belgian Pride to Brussels Pride, the name changes tell a story: of who is included, who speaks, and how a local march became a national then European reference point for LGBTQIA+ rights.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n


When RTBF looked back on \u201c20 years of Belgian Pride\u201d in 2015<\/a>, the story already stretched much further. Belgium\u2019s first big queer gathering dates back to 1978, with the \u201cGay Day\u201d in Ghent, followed by a second edition in Antwerp in 1979. In the 1980s, small marches under different names tested the waters, but it is in 1996 that Brussels really installs an annual Pride, then commonly called \u201cGay Pride\u201d, mirroring what was happening in other European capitals. At that stage, the focus is still largely on gays and lesbians, in a country where same\u2011sex marriage is not yet legal (it will only arrive in 2003) and where trans issues barely appear in the public debate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In the 2000s, the demonstration grows and starts to call itself \u201cBelgian Pride\u201d, reflecting a shift from a Brussels\u2011only march to an event claiming to speak for the whole country. The non\u2011profit behind it, The Belgian Pride, is a joint venture between RainbowHouse Brussels, \u00e7avaria (Flanders) and Arc\u2011en\u2011Ciel Wallonie (today F\u00e9d\u00e9ration Prisme), with the idea that the parade in the capital should be a common platform for the three Regions and Communities. In 2010, the name \u201cThe Belgian Pride\u201d is officially adopted; by 2012, a formal partnership with visit.brussels brings the tourism office into the picture and helps push the event into a different scale. Attendance triples in just a few years, up to 100,000 people in 2015, a year explicitly dedicated to trans rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read also : Brussels Pride 2026: registrations for Pride Village are open \u2013 be part of it!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u00a9 Hilde De Bock\u00a0\/\u00a0Anvers 1990.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The past ten years have been a rollercoaster. In 2015, the Pride focuses on trans issues; in 2016, the march goes ahead despite the March terrorist attacks, rerouting and moving the main stage from the Bourse to Mont des Arts, where it still stands today. In 2017, under the theme #CrossingBorders, the city dresses itself in rainbows \u2013 crossings, traffic lights, buses, fa\u00e7ades \u2013 while activists push asylum and migration to the centre of the conversation. By 2018, Pride Week stretches over more than two weeks, with some 70 events and around 140,000 visitors, confirming that Brussels is no longer just hosting a one\u2011day march but a full festival of queer culture and politics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read also : 2026 Global & European Pride Calendar: Dates & Destinations<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After two years of pandemic, the 2022 Belgian Pride returns with the theme #OPEN, insisting on inclusivity and on the right to feel safe every day, everywhere. In 2024\u20132025, Brussels Pride becomes the official name of the event, now organised directly by visit.brussels, and leans fully into its positioning as the opening Pride of the European season. Themes like \u201cSafe Everyday Everywhere\u201d and \u201cUnite, time to protect our rights\u201d respond to a harsher political climate, from anti\u2011gender movements to attacks on trans healthcare. Activists and institutions walk side by side, sometimes in tension, but with a shared awareness that visibility alone is not enough anymore \u2013 rights can be rolled back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n