Senior Pride 2024 |

The very oldest queer seniors were the first to be wheeled outside by the nursing staff and volunteers, as they naturally got front-row seats by the stage. We overheard one of them say, “We were also supposed to get a guard of honor, but that probably won’t happen.”
Of course, there was a guard of honor. At Senior Pride, nothing is left to chance. The awareness that these are the generations who fought the hardest for our freedoms is ever-present.

Now, for anyone who hasn’t attended Senior Pride, don’t get the impression that everyone is over 70 and moving around in a wheelchair or with a walker. It’s above all a city festival for the gay community, where Amsterdam citizens meet one another. The setup is far more intimate than the larger, more spectacular Pride events, but it’s at least twenty times as cozy—especially if you enjoy beautiful performances and a more intimate atmosphere, something that’s practically impossible in Amsterdam with its many tourists.

For us, as the editorial team of Norden, this Pride was primarily about honoring Victoria False’s career. A couple of years ago, doctors told her that traveling across the country with a heavy rolling suitcase was no longer a realistic option for a healthy retirement. It became a choice between quantity and quality. That didn’t stop Victoria, however, from fulfilling many of her commitments against all advice. At the time, we conducted an extensive interview with her about her decision to take things easier. We were honored that she wanted to announce her farewell exclusively in Norden Magazine. It was her choice to do this very modestly in our publication, and that was, of course, a great honor, but at the same time, we would have liked to see a bigger farewell—and it happened now, right in front of our door.

All the important people she had worked with over the years were present, and many of them performed. It was particularly touching because Victoria has spent decades advocating for queer seniors in care facilities, and on this evening, she was celebrated by her many colleagues in the field. When people organize farewells, they sometimes inadvertently turn them into half-funerals, but this was undoubtedly a festive occasion. Many shed a tear, but it never became too emotional or heavy, perhaps because no one in the audience could imagine a world without Victoria False. Naturally, there were also people like us who haven’t given up hope that we’ll see Ger Poels (Victoria’s real name) at important events in the city again, whether or not in the drag persona of Victoria False.

All in all, it was a wonderful celebration for the city of Amsterdam and, of course, for the Nieuwmarkt neighborhood. Notably, the neighborhood newspaper OpNieuw didn’t cover it at all, instead filling its pages with subsidized nonsense by aging squatters. A few more frosty nights and a severe flu epidemic, and perhaps this neighborhood will finally get an edition that doesn’t focus solely on the navel-gazing of squatters.

Performing Artists:
Coby van Dam, Johan van Rooy, Dario, Gerben Gremiers, Sven Ratzke, Victoria False, Ashley Knight, Dame Shirley Sassy, DJ Ronnie Retro, Amsterdam Gay Men’s Chorus, Rico Parlevliet, Dolly Bellefleur, Jelle & Astrid, Coco Coquette, and many others.