diff --git a/src/gui/splash.c b/src/gui/splash.c
index b0bd174bf3b4..87ebb1dda595 100644
--- a/src/gui/splash.c
+++ b/src/gui/splash.c
@@ -45,11 +45,17 @@ static void _process_all_gui_events()
   // give Gtk a chance to update the screen; we need to let the event
   // processing run several times for the splash window to actually be
   // fully displayed/updated
+#ifdef _WIN32
+  // Win32 GDK backend redraws synchronously via gdk_display_sync()
+  // called after this function — no need to sleep.
+  dt_gui_process_events();
+#else
   for(int i = 0; i < 5; i++)
   {
     g_usleep(1000);
     dt_gui_process_events();
   }
+#endif
 }
 
 static GtkWidget *_get_logo()