From Batman to wheelchair basketball: 3X3 Unites brings people together during Pride Village at Museumplein

'For the theme of body positivity, for example, we came up with the idea that every player had to give their opponent at least three compliments during a 3x3 game,' says Baowai Mooren, who coordinated the activations on behalf of 3X3 Unites. 'Afterwards, the teams came together and talked about why they had given certain compliments, how the other person had received them and what those compliments had made them feel.'

On the final day, 3X3 Unites also organised several wheelchair basketball clinics as part of the focus on inclusion. Participants had the opportunity to experience the sport for themselves. 'The clinics were a great success,' says Baowai. She saw first-hand how much fun the participants were having. 'At one point, we had to stop the clinic ourselves because we had to clean everything up. The participants would have loved to keep playing for a little longer.'

Turab Maskar was one of the six 3X3 Leaders who helped with the activations during WorldPride and saw how sport can bring people together. 'All kinds of different people came together on the basketball court who probably would never have met otherwise. One man was wearing a Batman costume, while someone else looked completely different. Those differences disappeared on the basketball court. Everyone spoke the language of 3x3 basketball, and I thought that was really cool to see.'

Meanwhile, Turab and the other 3X3 Leaders created a positive atmosphere and encouraged participants during the activations. 'But we weren't the only ones,' he says. 'A lot of people who were walking by stopped to watch or sat down on the benches we had placed around the court and got involved. It created a kind of festival vibe, which was really cool. There was music, some people started dancing and everyone was happy.'

The 3x3 activations took place on the new Legacy Art Court, which was recently designed by artist Munir de Vries. With the quote They Tried to Bury Us, But They Didn't Know We Were Seeds as part of the artwork, Munir wants to show that everyone carries the potential to grow within themselves. The quote is originally attributed to queer Greek poet Dinos Christianopoulos and has been used internationally on protest signs for emancipation.

The official opening of the Legacy Art Court at Museumplein will take place in September. It will be a place where sport, art and community come together on one court, and where everyone is welcome. Because a court is only truly for everyone when everyone feels welcome there. The activations during WorldPride proved exactly that.