Madonna and Kylie Minogue perform together at WorldPride Music Festival Amsterdam. Courtesy of Team Madonna.
Team Madonna
The Netherlands recently celebrated 25 years of marriage equality, having been the first country to legalize same-sex marriage. The celebration, dubbed WorldPride, took place in Amsterdam from July 25 to August 8, featuring numerous activities such as the Canal Parade, the Human Rights Conference and various concerts, including the WorldPride Music Festival.
“Over the years, I’ve met people from every corner of the world who tell me this is the one weekend each year where they feel completely free to be themselves,” Jake Resnicow, the executive producer of WorldPride Music Festival, says. “Some come from places where being LGBTQ+ is still criminalized. Others come because they don’t have that sense of community at home. They leave with new friendships, chosen family and the feeling that they’re part of something bigger than themselves. When thousands of people from around the world come together, even for one weekend, they realize they’re not alone. That’s the power of Pride.”
“I’ve been producing Pride events for 16 years, and Amsterdam reinforced something I’ve always believed: our community deserves the same level of production, talent and ambition as any major music festival in the world. Seeing people travel from across the globe to celebrate together made that vision feel very real,” Jake Resnicow says. Courtesy of Roxanne Blijs.
Roxanne Blijs
The festival, held on July 31 and August 1, featured a star-studded lineup, including Honey Dijon, Purple Disco Machine, LP Giobbi, Hayla, Jennifer Cooke, Oliver Heldens, Bebe Rexha and Paris Hilton. Festival goers certainly expected to see talented artists perform at the event, but what they didn’t anticipate was a surprise joint performance by Madonna and Kylie Minogue.
Madonna was welcomed to the Amsterdam festivities on August 1, bringing her Club Confessions series, which features exclusive pop-up dance and listening parties hosted by The Queen of Pop to celebrate her album Confessions II, released on July 3. Then, pop superstar Kylie Minogue joined Madonna on stage, where they debuted a brand-new song together. Madonna was later joined by longtime collaborator and producer Stuart Price, before Grammy-winning DJ and producer Honey Dijon got behind the decks.
Madonna and Kylie Minogue are considered the Queen of Pop and the Princess of Pop, respectively.
Team Madonna
Honey Dijon performing at the festival. Courtesy of Ian Moerings.
Ian Moerings
“We’ve always wanted this festival to be a platform where artists can debut new music and create moments they couldn’t create anywhere else, and Madonna’s Club Confessions was exactly that,” Resnicow says. “When Madonna brought out Kylie [Minogue] and asked the crowd, ‘Are we in gay heaven?’ you could feel the entire room register what was happening in real time. Watching two of the biggest icons in our community share a stage and debut a brand-new song together is the kind of moment people who were there will talk about for the rest of their lives.”
Madonna’s Club Confessions finished the two-night, multi-stage festival, which set an official Guinness World Record for the most confetti released in one minute. WorldPride Music Festival Amsterdam was produced by Resnicow in partnership with Insomniac, a music festival and live events experience creator.
Paris Hilton performs at the festival.
Roxanne Blijs
“Jake [Resnicow] has an incredible connection to this community and a big vision for what Pride can be,” Pasquale Rotella, founder of Insomniac, says. “I love collaborating with visionaries who are deeply passionate and genuinely care about the culture they represent. Jake embodies that spirit, always striving to deliver and exceed expectations, perfectly aligning with the goals of Insomniac. WorldPride Music Festival isn’t just an event: it was a vibrant celebration of love, unity and authenticity.”
Looking forward, WorldPride Music Festival will bring its mission to Miami’s Factory Town to launch the Global Pride Music Festival. The event will take place in February 2027 and be an open-air, multi-stage experience from sunset to sunrise.
“It’s a new city, but the purpose is exactly the same: creating a place where people feel seen, celebrated and connected,” Resnicow says.