ANTWERP PRIDE 2024 | 495,000 viewers watched the live broadcast of the parade

The 17th edition of Antwerp Pride took place from Wednesday 7 to Sunday 11 August 2024. This year’s theme was ‘Many Voices. One Pride‘. The organising committee advocates a more militant pride, with a “we’re not going back in the closet” attitude in reaction to rising conservatism and conformism. But let’s face it: pride is also celebration. Antwerp Pride 2024 is done now, but lingers on as not all rainbows are gone. Also don’t forget Antwerp Queer Arts Festival from 3 to 31 August.

Almost half a million people watched the live broadcast of the Antwerp Pride Parade on Saturday 10 August. This is evident from figures from Proximus Pickx.

It was the first time that the Antwerp Pride Parade was broadcast live by Proximus Pickx, ATV and the streaming platforms of GoPlay, OUTtv, GvA, VTM GO, VRT MAX, HLN, De Morgen, De Standaard, Het Nieuwsblad, Het Belang van Limburg and Q-Music.

During the three-hour broadcast, viewers were not only able to enjoy the dancing delegations and the colourful trucks, but were also informed about the content of Antwerp Pride, the protest that Pride stands for and what is going on within the queer community.

No fewer than 495,000 viewers tuned in to the Proximus channels or one of the many other platforms.

Krijn Jonckheere, Head of Media at Pickx, is extremely pleased with the great result: “Broadcasting the event was the push in the back for the Antwerp Pride organisation. The window to an event of love and solidarity in every living room. Making topics discussable. Our mailbox was not only overflowing with rainbow emoticons, but also with proud parents who saw their children marching in a parade full of pride. This is the first edition of hopefully many more to come.”

Antwerp Pride is also pleased. “You never really know what to expect when you do it for the first time”, chairman Geert van Praet says in the press release.

“The collaboration with Proximus Pickx, ATV and the many streaming platforms has enabled us to reach an even larger audience and take people home with us in the festivities, the protest and the deeper meaning of a Pride. Apparently there is a need for our message. Not everyone can participate in a Pride live or is ready for it. In this way, I hope that we have been able to support people who we would otherwise not be able to reach.”

Antwerp Pride itself attracted an estimated 170,000 visitors this year. Next year, the eighteenth edition of Antwerp Pride will take place from 6 to 10 August.

The Antwerp Pride Parade can be watched and relived on YouTube.