Amsterdam drag queens and kings, including Dolly Bellefleur and Jennifer Hopelezz were among the celebrities at the High Heels Hurray event organised by the Shakespeare Club at the H’art Museum in Amsterdam on Thursday.

City mayor Femke Halsema opened the red-carpet event which was part of the ongoing Pride Amsterdam festivities.

The Shakespeare Club, which goes back to post-war times when it was a meeting place for gays in the capital, is honouring “all drag queens and kings, who unfortunately still find themselves the object of scorn, discrimination and violence,” the organisers said.

In 2023, far-right groups staged a protest against drag queens reading to children at a Rotterdam theatre but were foiled when the organisers simply moved the event to a different time.

A 51-year-old woman from Dordrecht who had posted threats in the run-up to the book reading event was later arrested for incitement to violence.

The museum is hosting several activities until the end of this month, including lectures, documentaries, and a special event called Classical 4 Fetish which combines a love of fetish fashion and classical music. Visitors are strictly requested to abide by the dress code.

Pride Amsterdam runs until August 4.