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Budapest’s Pride Parade Defies Ban With Record Turnout

Declared a municipal event by Budapest’s mayor the parade pressed forward under heavy surveillance with EU lawmakers in attendance.

Tausende Teilnehmer der Pride-Demonstration in Budapest laufen über die Elisabeth-Brücke
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Overview

  • Under Mayor Gergely Karácsony’s decision to list Pride as a city festival the march proceeded despite a national police ban.
  • Organizers say the event drew tens of thousands of participants in Budapest’s largest Pride to date.
  • Police set up facial-recognition cameras and warned of fines up to €500 for marchers and prison terms for organizers.
  • Roughly 70 EU parliamentarians, diplomats and Equality Commissioner Hadja Lahbib joined the parade in solidarity.
  • The demonstration symbolized a direct challenge to Viktor Orbán’s restrictive “child protection” laws and broader attacks on LGBTQ+ visibility in Hungary.