Overview

• An estimated 100,000 people marched in Budapest on June 28 despite a parliamentary ban and new facial recognition laws targeting LGBT assemblies.
• Mayor Gergely Karácsony rebranded the event as a municipal celebration and risked fines or imprisonment for hosting the parade.
• Police allowed far-right counterdemonstrations to proceed freely and used facial recognition to monitor Pride participants.
• European Parliament and Commission officials are under pressure to invoke interim court orders and article 7 procedures in response to Hungary’s democratic backsliding.
• The mass turnout underscores growing domestic and international backlash to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s erosion of civil liberties ahead of Hungary’s April 2026 general election.