Budapest Pride has returned under very different political conditions this year, with thousands taking to the streets after years of pressure and attempts to shut the event down. The march followed a route through the city centre and became a visible sign that queer communities in Hungary are still refusing to disappear.
THIS ARTICLE AT A GLANCE
- Tens of thousands joined the 31st Budapest Pride march.
- The march went ahead without government interference.
- Budapest police authorised the event and provided security.
- Last year’s Pride had been banned under Viktor Orbán’s government.
- More than 10,000 people joined the march this year.
Tens of thousands of people marched through Budapest on Saturday for the 31st annual Budapest Pride, in what organizers and participants described as a major moment for the city’s LGBTQ+ community. Reuters reported that more than 10,000 Hungarians joined the march, while other reports put the turnout much higher, with the route drawing large crowds across the capital.
This year’s event was notable for what did not happen: there was no government effort to block it. Last year, Pride was banned under former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government, which had long pushed anti-LGBTQ policies. With Orbán now gone after his election defeat in April, police authorised the march and provided security along the route.
The march began at Budapest’s Opera House and wound through the city centre before crossing the Erzsébet Bridge over the Danube. Rainbow flags and banners were everywhere, and the mood was reportedly celebratory despite heatwave temperatures reaching 40C.
The political backdrop still mattered. Hungary’s 2021 anti-LGBTQ legislation, which served as the basis for last year’s ban, was ruled by the European Court of Justice in April to be in breach of EU rules. Prosecutors later dropped criminal charges against last year’s organisers, citing that ruling.
For Budapest’s queer community, this year’s Pride was more than a parade. It marked a rare moment when public visibility was not treated as a provocation, and when the simple act of marching through the city could be seen as a win in itself.
