Leuven Pride 2026 Is Next Weekend and It’s Just 25 Minutes From Brussels
Leuven Pride returns on September 26 with a Pride Walk, drag, music and parties. Here’s how to turn it into a Belgian weekend away.
Just 25 minutes by train from Brussels, the Belgian city of Leuven is preparing for its third Pride, giving LGBTQ+ travellers a last minute reason to consider a weekend away.
Leuven Pride takes over the city on Saturday, September 26, with organisers expecting around 2,500 people. Events also stretch across the wider weekend, beginning on Friday evening and continuing through Sunday afternoon
This isn’t trying to recreate one of Europe’s enormous Pride parades either. Organisers are deliberately keeping the main walk on a more human scale, with no floats and no VIP section. Instead, everyone joins the same march through the heart of Leuven.
What’s happening at Leuven Pride?
The Pride Walk gathers at Ladeuzeplein from 3pm before setting off through the city at 4pm.
Everyone returns to the square afterwards for the free Leuven Pride Show from 5.30pm, bringing together music, dancing, drag and live performances. The show will be hosted in both Dutch and English, making it particularly accessible for international visitors.
The night doesn’t finish there. The official closing party starts at Het Depot at 9pm, while Sunday offers a considerably gentler ending with coffee and cake at UniQue RainbowHouse from 2pm.
Organisers have also put accessibility measures in place. The main square is wheelchair accessible, a Flemish Sign Language interpreter will be present during the Pride Show and a quieter care area will be available for visitors who need some time away from the crowds.
Why make a weekend of Leuven?
Leuven is a compact university city in Flanders, east of Brussels, making it easy to explore without spending half the weekend travelling between attractions.
Its historic centre mixes impressive architecture with restaurants, bars, cafés and lively squares, so there is plenty to do around the Pride programme itself.
That smaller scale could actually be part of the appeal. Rather than travelling for an enormous Pride where the event dominates everything, visitors can combine the celebrations with a relaxed Belgian city break.
Getting to Leuven from the UK
Eurostar passengers can travel from London to Brussels-Midi before changing onto a Belgian train for Leuven. Direct trains between Brussels and Leuven take around 25 minutes.
Flying works particularly well too. Brussels Airport has its own railway station and direct trains reach Leuven in around 15 minutes, meaning visitors can potentially be in the city shortly after leaving the airport.
With Pride just days away, this isn’t one for planning months in advance. It is a relatively easy European weekend that combines a smaller LGBTQ+ celebration with a Belgian city many UK travellers may never have considered visiting.
