Dolly Bellefleur is the alter ego of comedian, lyricist and creative jack-of-all-trades Ruud Douma. Since her debut in 1989, La Bellefleur has become a figurehead of the Dutch LGBT+ movement. Her tireless commitment to the LGBT+ emancipation struggle has not gone unnoticed. For example, in 2013 the Kenau Hasselaer Prize – the Haarlem emancipation prize – was awarded to Dolly and in 2014 this ‘beauty with brains’ received the Andreas Medal from the city of Amsterdam from Eberhard van der Laan. 2014 was also the year that Dolly Bellefleur was nominated for De Olifant, the Art and Culture Prize of the Haarlems Dagblad. After Dolly was nominated in 2019 for the Jos Brink Oeuvre Prize, the LGBT+ emancipation prize of the Dutch government, COC Netherlands awarded the Bob Angelo Medal to Dolly in 2020. The theme TOGETHER/TOGETHER is perfect for Dolly. For 35 years her most important message has been: ‘LET LOVE RULE! Gay, straight, lesbian, transgender, non-binary or (b)i? Together we are family. Let’s celebrate diversity!’ Dolly Bellefleur has also written a song on the theme for this edition. To give you a sneak peek, here are some excerpts from the song lyrics:

‘Iedereen is anders
Daarin zijn we gelijk
Niet tegen- maar medestanders
Samen zijn we vindingrijk
Volkomen gelijkwaardig
Gaan we samen aan de slag
Iedereen is eigenaardig
Maar daarin schuilt juist de kracht!’

‘Ben je gay
Transgender, bi,
Queer, non-binair?
We are family
Lesbisch of straight
Wees trots en date
Cause love is great
Let’s celebrate

Everybody make love
Omhels elkaar
Laat liefde regeren
Wees lief voor elkaar
Turn the world around
Put your fears aside
You are included
Let’s celebrate Pride’

Dolly, assisted by approximately three dancers, will perform live the entire route of the Canal Parade, the song written especially on the TOGETHER theme.