Photo: Philippe Vogelenzang
Interview Paul Hofman
Dutch journalist. From from September 2008 to October 2013 she was editor-in-chief of the feminist magazine Opzij. In the summer of 2009 she hosted the VPRO programme Zomergasten and in 2015 she took part in the television show Wie is de Mol; later that year her first book De Liefde Niet was published. “My coming out was difficult, but a breakthrough to individual freedom; something every person has a right to. That is exactly the core message of my ambassadorship. Role models, connectedness within our community, continually standing up for our rights and for (young) people in other communities and worlds who need us, are extremely important. Individual freedom matters, but the individual should not always have to stand alone.”
Interview Margriet van der Linden
“I was never afraid to say: this is who I am!”
We are proud to name Margriet van der Linden EuroPride ambassador 2016. To the general public she became widely known through her appearance on the show Wie is de Mol, where she ultimately turned out to be ‘De Mol’. But she has been active in journalism for many years, both in front of and behind the scenes — for example as editor-in-chief of Opzij and as presenter of Zomergasten.
Margriet fondly recalls the Gay Games in 1998: “During the Gay Games in 1998 I lived on the Damrak. I leaned out the window and saw hordes of people arriving from Central Station, groups of tourists, the streets filling up. It was the first time after my coming out that I thought; this is amazing. It felt so free, open and joyful. I hope that feeling returns to the city and to me during EuroPride.”
Margriet has an exceptionally strong personality, which gives her the visibility we expect from a EuroPride ambassador: “I think being visible has always suited me. I was never afraid to say: this is who I am!” With that powerful message Margriet connects perfectly to our theme JOIN our Freedom.
“Last year I took part in the documentary Love Exchange. Five well-known Dutch people were paired with five foreign ‘Heroes of Love’. I was paired with a transgender man from South Africa. We met regularly in the lead-up to Pride Amsterdam and on the day of the Canal Parade. I cycled along the Prinsengracht towards the Amstel to meet him and saw people everywhere preparing; setting up barbecues, getting boats ready, hanging flags. It was the excitement before it all happens, everyone was involved. Some people think it’s a bit of gawking, but I know many who turn their back on them and want nothing to do with it. But don’t be so negative — I love it. Join in, join the party!”
Pride Ambassador since 2016
