The Amsterdam Gay Pride Canal Parade has been an annual highlight on the event calendar in the Netherlands for twenty years, with hundreds of thousands of people gathering to celebrate freedom. This year’s Gay Pride theme is Share. And this year, on August 1, it will include an ‘empty’ boat for the first time. It will look as though there’s no one on board but, in fact, thousands of passengers will get to share the experience. The Pridestream boat is the parade entry by Dutch telecom provider KPN, Dutch creative agency N=5 and global creative production company mediaMonks. It will carry a camera that streams a full 360-degree panoramic view of the parade…or, in other words, virtual passengers.
Everyone is welcome on the Pridestream boat.
People join the boat on the website, where they can also submit their photo and video (anonymously, if wished), which will be displayed on LED screens on the boat during the parade.
The Pridestream (livestream) allows people all over the world to log on and experience the Canal Pride as if they were really there. A 360-degree camera streams both image and sound: virtual passengers will hear the music on the boat and the cheering of the people along the canals. They can look all around and experience what it’s like to be a part of the Boat Parade from any device. In addition to the camera, the boat is equipped with LED screens showing videos of people all over the world who are letting everyone know that they are also a part of the celebrations from afar. For those living in countries in which Gay Pride is not accepted, the website offers a number of privacy tools that enable people there to join the Parade safely and anonymously.
Lucien Spee, chief executive officer of the Amsterdam Gay Pride, commented, “The Pridestream boat is one of the pearls of the Boat Parade. It’s a truly special boat which represents a sense of freedom. Everyone can be cheered on, including those beyond Amsterdam and the Netherlands. Thanks to this boat, people will be able to experience this feeling everywhere and share it with everyone all over the world. It’s a fantastic initiative which perfectly embodies the theme of this year’s Amsterdam Gay Pride: share.”
The concept was developed by Dutch advertising agency N=5.
MediaMonks, Dutchview and many other partners gave their time and effort free of charge or at a reduced rate, to implement it.
