28. Dolly Bellefleur
Dolly Bellefleur is the alter ego of cabaret performer, lyricist and all‑round creative Ruud Douma. Since her debut in 1989, La Bellefleur has grown into an icon of the Dutch LGBT+ movement.
Description
Dolly Bellefleur is the alter ego of cabaret performer, lyricist and multi‑talented creative Ruud Douma. Since her debut in 1989, La Bellefleur became a leading figure in the Dutch LGBT+ movement. Her tireless dedication to the rainbow community has not gone unnoticed. In 2013 she was awarded the Kenau Hasselaer Prize — the Haarlem emancipation award —
Dolly and this ‘beauty with brains’ received the Andreas Medal from Eberhard van der Laan in 2014. After Dolly was nominated in 2019 for the Jos Brink Oeuvre Prize, the national emancipation award, COC Nederland presented her with the Bob Angelo Medal in 2020. In 2026 Ruud Douma was appointed Knight in the Order of Orange‑Nassau. Dolly has sailed with the very first Canal Parade in 1996 and has won prizes for her participation several times.
The theme UNITY is a perfect fit for ‘Queen of Hearts’ Dolly. For 37 years her core message has been: ‘LET LOVE REIGN. Gay, straight, lesbian, transgender, non‑binary or (bi)? We are one big family. Let’s celebrate diversity!’ For every edition of the Canal Parade Dolly traditionally writes a song. This year one of the things celebrated and sung about is 25 years of marriage equality:
You can be a Superman And still wear a wedding gown When you marry Batman Let nobody bring you down Love is great, don’t be afraid Be yourself, don’t hesitate You can do all you can Say I am what I am
COC is celebrating its 80th anniversary and so Dolly’s song also pays tribute to the pioneers who contributed to LGBT+ emancipation in the past:
Erwin Olaf, Bet van Beeren
Also Benno Premsela
They let love reign
It's in Mokum's DNA
Let love reign
Put some flowers in your hair
Oh Amsterdam, how beautiful you are
Let’s be kind to one another
Accompanied by dancers from the company Trippin Angels, Dolly will perform this song live along the entire route.
For the second year in a row Dolly has joined forces with Team Eberhardjes. Their mottos ‘Take good care of the city and of each other’ and ‘Let love reign’ fit seamlessly together.
Dolly’s boat UNITED COLOURS OF BELLEFLEUR was funded by a unique online crowdfunding campaign BELLEFLEURS WORLD PRIDE UNITY BINGO:https://www.eberhardjes.nl/bingo/nl/
So, speaking of unity, Dolly’s boat is ultimately supported by the 170 nationalities that call Amsterdam home.
