When my husband wrote about our experience at Antwerp Pride, I found myself thinking about the day from a slightly different perspective.
For him, Pride brought back memories of a time when he had attended one more than thirteen years ago, and of how meaningful it felt to finally experience that freedom and openness again.
For me, this was something different.
Even though it wasn’t my first Pride, It was my first Pride in my home country.
And somehow, that made the experience even more special.
I have lived in Belgium for a long time, but I had never actually experienced Pride here. So when we were invited by our friends to join them for Antwerp Pride on August 8th, I didn’t really know what to expect.
I certainly didn’t expect what I experienced.
A City Full of Pride
From the moment we arrived in Antwerp, there was an energy in the city that was difficult to describe.
People were everywhere. Friends were meeting up, families were walking through the streets, music was playing, and the anticipation was growing by the minute.
And then the parade began.
What struck me most wasn’t simply the size of it. It was the atmosphere.
There was so much positivity.
People seemed genuinely happy to be there. There was openness everywhere — people talking to one another, smiling at strangers, dancing together and celebrating differences rather than being afraid of them.
It felt less like people were simply attending an event and more like an entire city had decided, for one day, to say: you belong here.
That feeling stayed with me throughout the day.
A Record-Breaking Celebration
This year’s Antwerp Pride was also a record edition.
More than 170,000 people came to celebrate, despite expectations of around 150,000.
Those numbers are impressive on their own, but standing there among the crowd, the number suddenly became more than a statistic.
It was 170,000 individual people.
170,000 different stories.
170,000 reasons to show up.
And what amazed me was how much of that enormous crowd seemed to be connected by the same basic idea: that people should be allowed to be themselves, to love who they love, and to live without having to hide.
Of course, Pride is about the LGBTQ+ community, but what I saw in Antwerp was something bigger than that.
I saw allies.
I saw friends and families.
I saw people who perhaps didn’t share the same experiences, but who were willing to stand beside those who did.
And, most importantly, I saw a willingness to understand.
More Than a Parade
Before going to Pride, I suppose part of me thought of it simply as a celebration — a parade, music, colorful outfits, dancing and a lot of people having a good time.
And it was all of those things.
But it was also much more.
There was something incredibly powerful about seeing so many people openly expressing themselves without apology.
The openness of the day was what affected me most.
People weren’t just accepting that LGBTQ+ people were there.
They were engaging with them.
They were talking, connecting, laughing, celebrating and sharing the moment.
There was a feeling that differences didn’t have to create distance.
They could actually create connection.
That was perhaps my biggest takeaway from the day.
Pride isn’t only about being seen. It’s also about seeing one another.
Seeing the person next to you.
Listening to their story.
Understanding that their life may be different from yours, while still recognizing that underneath all those differences, we are not so different after all.
Pride in My Own Home
As the day went on, I found myself becoming increasingly grateful that this was happening here — in my own country.
There was something deeply moving about experiencing this kind of celebration at home.
Not somewhere far away.
Not as a visitor.
But here.
In Belgium.
In Antwerp.
Among people who had come together from so many different backgrounds to celebrate something that, at its heart, is incredibly simple:
the freedom to be yourself.
And standing there with my husband, our daughter and our friends, I realized how fortunate I was to experience that moment.
There is still work to do. Pride exists for a reason, and acceptance cannot be taken for granted.
But days like this show what is possible when people choose openness over fear, curiosity over judgment, and connection over division.
What I Took Home With Me
When I think back on Antwerp Pride, I don’t think the first thing I’ll remember is the size of the crowd.
I won’t remember exactly how many floats passed us or which songs were playing.
I’ll remember the feeling.
The smiles.
The openness.
The incredible sense of connection.
And the realization that 170,000 people can come together and, for a day, create a space where so many people feel completely free to be themselves.
For my first Pride in my home country, I couldn’t have asked for a more powerful introduction.
It reminded me that acceptance isn’t something abstract.
You can see it.
You can feel it.
You can experience it in a smile from a stranger, a conversation with someone you’ve never met, or thousands of people standing together in the streets of Antwerp.
And perhaps that’s what Pride means to me now.
Not simply a parade.
Not simply a celebration.
But a reminder that when we are willing to understand one another, accept one another and connect with one another, we can create something incredibly beautiful together.
My first Pride at home was unforgettable.
And I already know it won’t be my last.