Budapest Pride Draws Tens of Thousands in First March Since Orbán Ouster

Tens of thousands of people gathered in Budapest on June 27 for the 31st annual Budapest Pride march, the first such event since former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was defeated in an April election. The march began at the city’s Opera House, moved through the center and crossed the Erzsébet Bridge over the Danube River.

Temperatures reached at least 100 degrees amid a heat wave affecting much of Europe.

Organizers handed out water bottles while the municipal water utility opened fountains along the route. Participants danced to music and carried rainbow flags. Police authorized the event and supplied security.

Orbán’s government had enacted legislation and a constitutional amendment more than a year earlier that aimed to outlaw Pride events. Hungary’s new government led by Prime Minister Péter Magyar has not repealed that law. Last year’s march, held in defiance of the ban, drew an estimated 350,000 people according to organizers.

Luca Új, attending her third Pride, said the atmosphere felt more relaxed. “There used to be a lot of tension. But now I see people as being somehow happier, and there are more older people, too,” she said.

Kristóf Györgyi traveled from Szeged for his first Pride. He cited ongoing parliamentary debate over same-sex adoption as a positive sign even though laws remain unchanged. “Obviously, the laws haven’t changed yet, but there are already many signs of hope for our community,” he said.

In April the European Union’s highest court ruled that 2021 Orbán-era legislation restricting LGBTQ+ content for minors violates EU law.