The inaugural Pride Leiden event attracted approximately 25,000 attendees, as announced by the municipality. Concerns about potential protests led to a brief imposition of an emergency

decree around a library in Leiden's city center on Saturday morning. However, the municipality reported that there were no disturbances at the library.

In light of Pride Leiden, local drag queen Dina Diamond visited the Nieuwstraat library on Saturday morning to read to children. Due to concerns that public order could be disrupted, the newly appointed mayor, Peter van der Velden, issued an emergency decree.

Ultimately, just over ten individuals protested against the drag queen's reading session, including Forum for Democracy MP Gideon van Meijeren. A larger counter-protest, consisting of more than a hundred people, took place nearby, according to the municipal spokesperson. She noted that there were no incidents, and the reading session concluded "on a positive note."

The police confirmed that there were no arrests related to the library activities. However, on Saturday afternoon, two individuals were arrested in the city center for verbally insulting one police officer and physically assaulting another, as stated by a spokesperson. In the afternoon, a lively boat parade unfolded on Leiden's canals, as reported by the municipality.

Pride Leiden culminated on Saturday night with a celebratory party, marking the town's first Pride event in Zuid-Holland. It's worth noting that two years ago, the Leiden queer community held a protest march, and in 1983, Pink Saturday was celebrated in Leiden. Photo by Silar, Wikimedia commons.