Biggest-ever Budapest Pride defies Orban ban in Hungary
Up to 200,000 people took part in support of LGBTQ rights despite the president warning that there could be ‘legal consequences’
Record numbers of people marched in the Budapest Pride parade on Saturday, defying a government ban that marked a major pushback against LGBTQ rights in the European Union.
Organisers estimated up to 200,000 people took part in the 30th parade in the Hungarian capital, which was held in a festive atmosphere with rainbow flags flying high.
Those numbers far exceed the previous record turnout of 35,000 people and came in spite of a police ban imposed by Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s nationalist government.
The governing coalition amended its laws and the constitution this year to prohibit the annual celebration, citing “child protection” to justify the years-long clampdown on LGBTQ rights.
But the opposition-run Budapest city hall decided to co-host the march so it could go ahead.
“I am proud to be gay and I am very scared that the government wants to bring us down,” one participant, 66-year-old Zoltan, said.