Amsterdam tightens security for WorldPride after Berlin attack

Amsterdam will step up security at the WorldPride celebration it is hosting following the deadly Berlin Pride attack, with the Canal Parade on Saturday expected to draw hundreds of thousands of spectators.

"Security at Pride has always been at a very high level in Amsterdam. Where necessary, we will take additional measures which visitors will hopefully notice as little as possible," the city's mayor Femke Halsema said in a statement.

Her office declined to detail the measures, saying only that the event was being taken "very seriously." Police said both visible and covert security measures would be deployed.

THREAT LEVEL FOUR

The Netherlands has been at threat level 4 on its five-point national terrorism scale since December 2023, indicating that there is a realistic possibility of an attack.

In its latest threat assessment, the Dutch counterterrorism agency (NCTV) said jihadist threats remain the country's primary security concern, while also warning about violent nihilistic extremists who add an unpredictable dimension to the threat landscape.

MEMORIAL SERVICE

On Tuesday evening, thousands of people attended a memorial service in Amsterdam for the victims of the Berlin Pride car-ramming attack, which killed one woman and injured several other people.

The suspect, who was shot dead by police on Sunday, was identified as a 21-year-old German citizen. German prosecutors said he left a video on his phone pledging allegiance to militant group Islamic State.

"It's devastating that someone attended Pride in 2026, in Berlin and that lady couldn't go back home and got killed", said memorial attendee Amin.

Roze Gebaar, a Dutch LGBT organisation representing deaf, hard-of-hearing and deafblind people, will have a boat in the parade. A spokesperson said the organisation recognises that the Berlin attack may have caused fear among some participants.

"Everyone is shocked, and the awareness of our vulnerability is stronger than ever. At the same time, making ourselves invisible is not the answer", said Mick Groeneveld from Queer Museum, which will also have a boat participating on Saturday.

"Pride should be about equal rights, not terrorism", Pride Amsterdam spokesperson Martijn Albers said.

"The aim of terrorism is to spread fear, and we must not give in to that," he said.

-Reporting by Charlotte Van Campenhout, Hilde Verweij; Editing by Toby Chopra/Reuters