In a festive atmosphere the streets lining the canals and the bridges over them overflowed with members of the gay community, residents, tourists, party-goers and curious onlookers.

Disco music pumped from the 80 boats passing through the canals in a four-hour spectacle that involved plenty of glistening male torsos, bikinis, glitter, feathers and boas.

Restaurants and cafés in the vicinity were decorated with pink balloons, alcohol flowed freely and the smell of marijuana hung in the air.

A clear crowd favourite was a boatload of men in tight leather shorts and leather straps around their naked upper bodies, urging the crowd to dance along to the tune of "I just can't get enough".

Other boats sported men and women dressed as cowboys, angels and devils, but at least one had a serious message on a banner stating in pink letters: "Not everybody is free to celebrate".

"This is a very important occasion, not just a party," said 35-year-old Blas Aguero, who had travelled from Brussels to participate. Wearing a huge pink hat, he told AFP: "We live in a hypocritical society. Even if people don't say they dislike you for being gay, they never quite accept you".

"It is about showing that we are here, that it is time that lesbian women who walk hand-in-hand in the street are not gawked at, or spat on as happened to a friend of mine," added one 24-year-old woman who did not want to be named.

"Being a pink family is OK"

Lyke van der Schaft (35) said the parade was an important statement for her. "We are here to show that being a pink family is OK," she said, accompanied by her partner and young daughter.

Organisers expected about half-a-million visitors at the event, the 13th hosted by the city of Amsterdam, and the first to be sponsored by two major companies.

"The parade serves a dual purpose: to celebrate that we can be who we are and that we can do it in the open, and to be visible, building acceptance of homosexuality," said organiser Frank van Dalen.

"We are here for the party, but also for the struggle."

For the first time ever, members of the Dutch cabinet and Amsterdam mayor Job Cohen joined the parade to show political support for the gay cause.

Cohen said in a statement earlier that gay acceptance appeared to be under threat.

"The number of incidents of discrimination and of violence against gay people has increased in the past year," he said.

"It is time to stop talking about tolerance and focus instead on acceptance of sexual differences in Amsterdam."

"We add value through our differentness"

Van Dalen argued that society as a whole was in need of a mindshift.

"As gay people, we still get the feeling that we want to be more open but it is difficult to do so in the workplace, on the sportsfield.

"Society still expects of gay people to behave 'normally'. Society needs to start accepting that we add value through our differentness."

One of the boats in the line-up, sponsored by a developmental organisation, was empty to remind audiences of the plight of homosexuals who face persecution or even the death penalty in some countries.

In another first for the parade, one of the floats carried a group of Christian homosexuals, and another entitled "Roze in Blaauw" (Pink in Blue) a group of uniformed gay police.

Gay men from the Netherlands Antilles, initially fearful of being identified, also took part in the end.

"This is fantastic!" exclaimed 73-year-old Peter Hermans, who attended his first gay pride parade as a spectator.

"It is festive, it is spontaneous, it is fun!"

AFP