Around 100,000 march in Budapest Pride in open defiance of Hungary’s ban

BUDAPEST, Hungary — Around 100,000 people defied a government ban and police orders Saturday to march in what organizers called the largest LGBTQ+ Pride event in Hungary’s history in an open rebuke of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government.

Marchers gambled with potential police intervention and heavy fines to participate in the 30th annual Budapest Pride, which was outlawed in March by Orbán’s right-wing populist governing party.

The march began at Budapest City Hall and wound through the city center before crossing the capital’s Erzsébet Bridge over the Danube River. Police diverted the crowd from its planned route to keep it separated from a small group of far-right counterprotesters, while members of Hungary’s LGBTQ+ community and masses of supporters danced to music and waved rainbow and anti-government flags.

One marcher, Blanka Molnár, said it was ‘’a fantastic feeling’’ that more people had attended the Pride march than ever before despite it being outlawed. She said it was ‘’increasingly important’’ for Hungarians, ‘’even those who have never been to Pride before,’’ to push back against the government’s policies.

“This isn’t just about LGBQT+ rights, it’s also about the right to assemble and about standing up for each other and not allowing (the government) to oppress us,’’ she said.

The massive size of the march, which the government for months had insisted would no longer be permitted in Hungary, was seen as a major blow to Orbán’s prestige, as the European Union’s longest-serving leader’s popularity slumps in the polls where a new opposition force has taken the lead.

Orbán and his party have insisted that Pride, a celebration of LGBTQ+ visibility and struggle for equal rights, was a violation of children’s rights to moral and spiritual development — rights that a recent constitutional amendment declared took precedence over other fundamental protections including the right to peacefully assemble.

The law fast-tracked through parliament in March made it an offense to hold or attend events that ‘’depict or promote’’ homosexuality to minors underage 18. Orbán earlier made clear that Budapest Pride was the explicit target of the law.

Authorities installed additional cameras throughout the city center before the march, and were expected to use facial recognition tools to identify individuals who attend the banned event. According to the new law, being caught attending Pride could result in fines of up to 200,000 Hungarian forints ($586).

Marcher András Faludy said the ‘’hysteria’’ that has emerged in Hungary over the Pride march in recent months was ‘’damn pathetic. It’s nonsense.’’

“I could use an uglier word because I’m extremely angry, but I won’t,’’ he added.

The ban was the latest crackdown on LGBTQ+ rights by Orbán’s government, which has already effectively banned both same-sex adoption and same-sex marriage and disallowed transgender individuals from changing their sex in official documents.

Police rejected several requests by organizers in recent weeks to register the Pride march, citing the recent law. But Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony joined with organizers and declared it would be held as a separate municipal event — something he said doesn’t require police approval.

But Hungary’s government remained firm, insisting that holding the Pride march, even if it’s sponsored by the city, would be unlawful. Hungary’s justice minister this week warned Karácsony that organizing Pride or encouraging people to attend would be punishable by up to a year in prison.

Many marchers expressed their belief that the Pride march represented a struggle not just for the protections of the rights of sexual minorities, but for the democratic future of their country.

Participant Zsófia Szekér said the number of attendees showed that a major part of society desired a new direction for Hungary.

“I think we can only achieve change if so many people take to the streets,’’ she said.