The 18th edition (since 2008) of Antwerp Pride takes place from Wednesday 6 to Sunday 10 August 2025. This year’s theme is “Do not just march! Listen. Understand. Commit”. Prides are a mix of celebration – parties – and activism and advocacy. For the 2025 edition, the organising committee focuses on belonging. Belonging to the society at large – the ‘outside world’ – but also belonging within the rainbow realm. 

The theme of the eighteenth edition of Antwerp Pride, which will take place from Wednesday 6 to Sunday 10 August, is ‘Do Not Just March‘ with the subtitle ‘Listen. Act. Commit‘. 

With this, the organisation wants to call on everyone who cares about the rainbow community to consciously commit to protecting the rights that our community has acquired over the past decades and to take steps towards the future together.

“In some Western countries, the LGBTQI+ community is under pressure. Not only in far-flung countries but also in Europe and due to the antics of the American president, the rights, health and safety of the American rainbow community are in danger. Looking away from what is happening around us and dismissing it as something far-fetched is not an option. Now is more than ever the time to show solidarity within our own community, but also beyond and internationally”, the organising committee says in a press release. 

With the slogan ‘Do Not Just March. Listen. Act. Commit.’ Antwerp Pride wants to show that participating in Antwerp Pride is not without obligation. Not for the participants in the parade, not for the partygoers, not for the politician, not for the CEO, not for the marketer, not for the spectator, not for…

“Who would have ever thought that Belgium would adjust its travel advice to the United States to warn LGBTQI+ tourists about possible forms of discrimination? We must be very vigilant. If it rains in Washington DC, Rome, Budapest or Moscow, it should not start dripping in Antwerp“, Antwerp Pride chairman Geert van Praet says. 

“Taking part in Antwerp Pride means listening, hearing and acting. This can be done in your immediate environment by respecting a person, by implementing an inclusive policy in the workplace, by using the correct pronouns or in the sports club and it can be done on a large scale by, for example, finally working on a regulation regarding surrogacy. Or by calling countries that no longer respect the rights of the LGBTQI+ community to account. Everyone can listen, understand and do something to make our society a safer and warmer place for everyone who is at risk of being discriminated against”, Van Praet adds.

Antwerp Pride starts this year on Wednesday 6 August and ends on Sunday 10 August. Although the organisation is still busy with the content, the Antwerp Pride Parade will also be there on Saturday 9 August, as will the festivals. Registrations for the parade are open.

More information about the Antwerp Pride programme will follow later.

Volunteers

This year, Antwerp Pride needs more than 800 volunteers to make the free festival possible in a pleasant and safe way. The organisation therefore makes a warm appeal to everyone who wants to help with this vibrant party to lend a hand. More information can be found on antwerppride.com.

Antwerp Pride 2025 & Antwerp Queer Arts Festival 2025

• Antwerp Pride 2025’s theme: “Do not just march! Listen. Understand. Commit.”.
• Antwerp Queer Arts Festival broadens horizon to Bruges and Leuven.
• Antwerp Pride 2025 from Wednesday 6 to Sunday 10 August.

Darklands 2025-2026

• Darklands organiser calls out unnecessary rules other events aren’t subjected to.
• GAY ANTWERP | Darklands 2026 becomes Beyond Darklands.
• GAY ANTWERP | Darklands 2026 changes name and concept, but keeps Waagnatie as venue.
• Darklands 2025 aims at actively welcoming FLINTA people.
• DARKLANDS 2025 | Programme & schedule highlights.
• Darklands 2025 drops token payment system in favour of top-up Darkband.
• ANTWERP | Darklands to leave Waagnatie after 2025.
• Darklands 2025 from Tuesday 25 February until Monday 3 March.
• Darklands 2025 theme: ‘Darklands Glows’, stays at Waagnatie until 2030.

The latest on LGBTQIA+ events such as prides in Belgium

• Antwerp Pride 2025’s theme: “Do not just march! Listen. Understand. Commit.”.
• Darklands organiser calls out unnecessary rules other events aren’t subjected to.
• Brussels Pride 2025 on 17 May: ‘Unite, time to protect our rights’.
• Queer March Ghent 2025 from 1 to 31 March.
• Limburg Pride composes anthem for first edition.
• BRUSSELS | International collective launches Pride Museum, seeks location.
• Belgium to host Eurovision Song Contest 2026? But in which city?.
• PinX LGBTQIA+ Film Festival in Ghent and in Antwerp from 29 January to 2 February 2025.
• Antwerp Queer Arts Festival broadens horizon to Bruges and Leuven.
• ANTWERP 2025-2030 | City government agreement supports bid for EuroGames in Antwerp in 2028.
• Leuven Pride 2024 parade route from railway station to Ferdinand Smoldersplein.
• Liège Pride 2025 on Friday 22, Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 August.
• CHARLEROI PRIDE | Three days of inclusivity and festivities.
• Antwerp Queer Arts Festival from 3 to 31 August 2024: programme.