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yesterday

Record Crowd Defies Hungary’s Pride Ban in Budapest

Classified as a municipal event to bypass the ban, the Pride march exposed attendees to fines up to €500 with organisers vulnerable to prison under the new child protection law.

A participant in the Pride march cheers in Budapest, Hungary, Saturday, June 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Rudolf Karancsi)
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Participants in the Pride march cross the Elisabeth Bridge in Budapest, Hungary, Saturday, June 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Rudolf Karancsi)
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Overview

  • An estimated 100,000 to 200,000 people marched on June 28 in Budapest despite a formal police ban under March’s child protection law.
  • Budapest mayor Gergely Karacsony classified the event as a municipal parade to circumvent the ban, allowing it to proceed without a permit.
  • The law empowers police to use facial recognition cameras to identify participants and to impose fines of up to €500 on attendees, with organisers facing up to one year in prison.
  • More than 70 members of the European Parliament, EU Commissioner Hadja Lahbib and over 30 embassies publicly supported the march and urged Hungarian authorities to reverse the ban.
  • Opponents say the ban forms part of Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s broader crackdown on democratic freedoms and LGBTQ+ rights ahead of the 2026 general election.