Beneath a blaze of rainbow flags and amid roars of defiance, big crowds gathered in the Hungarian capital Budapest for the city’s 30th annual Pride march – an event that, this year, is unfolding as both a celebration and a protest.
Moving through the capital in the sweltering heat, demonstrators carried signs reading “Solidarity with Budapest Pride” and waved placards bearing crossed-out illustrations of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
Music played from portable speakers as people of all ages joined the march – families with pushchairs, teenagers draped in capes, and older residents walking alongside activists.
The march proceeded in open defiance of a police ban imposed earlier this year under sweeping new legislation that prohibits LGBTQ+ events nationwide.
A participant celebrates during the Budapest Pride March in the Hungarian capital.
“Pride is a protest, and if Orbán can ban Budapest Pride without consequences, every pride is one election away from being banned,” she continued.
The ban sparked lively protests in Budapest in March, with organizers of the city’s Pride vowing to continue with the annual festival despite the new law and declaring: “We will fight this new fascist ban.”. »
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