Antwerp Pride returns from Wednesday to Sunday for its 19th edition, with the city lit in rainbow colours and the Boerentoren illuminated for the first time in tribute to the LGBTQ+ community.
Other landmark buildings, including the Opera House, Central Station, Het Steen and the Port Authority building, Het Havenhuis, will also display rainbow colours during the event.
This year's theme is 'Fearless'. Organisers say they want to show that Pride is not just a parade, but a movement made up of people who show courage by being themselves.
"Every rainbow-coloured symbol carries the same message: we are here, we are together, we are not afraid," organisers said.
Among the many events on the programme, the Museum aan de Stroom will host the Darling festival, featuring talks, workshops and a party.
The Pride march through the city is scheduled for Saturday afternoon. More than 100,000 people took part in last year's parade in support of LGBTQ+ rights.
Organisers have sought to reassure attendees over security after the terror attack targeting Berlin Pride in July, in which one person was killed.
Geert van Praet, the head of Antwerp Pride, said Belgium's threat analysis body CUTA had detected no increased threat. Prime Minister Bart De Wever, who is also Antwerp's mayor but currently unable to serve in that role, said the event was "very well protected" and could go ahead.
Pride traces its origins to the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York, which erupted after a violent police raid on the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar.
