Hungary’s prime minister tried to ban Pride. Thousands showed up anyway

Despite Viktor Orbán's right-wing populist government banning Pride, Budapest might have just had the largest Pride parade in its history

Hungary might have just had the largest LGBTQ2S+ Pride parade in the country’s history—and it wasn’t even allowed to happen.

In March, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s right-wing populist government passed a constitutional amendment banning public events that “depict or promote” homosexuality to minors, specifically targeting Budapest’s annual Pride parade.

But the ban didn’t stop an estimated 100,000 people from celebrating Pride anyway over the weekend—and they risked threats of potential police action, newly approved facial recognition tools to identify attendees and heavy fines to do so. 

The ban is the latest attack on LGBTQ2S+ rights from Orbán’s government, which has ended any legal recognition of trans people, made it illegal for same-sex couples to adopt children and required disclaimers for books featuring “non-traditional families.” Orbán later called the march “repulsive and shameful” and accused the EU of organizing the event to defy his government.

But the sheer size and scope of the demonstration shows that Orbán is not representative of his people. It’s a good reminder that while “Pride” has become more of a fun celebration backed by rainbow capitalist sponsors over the years, the history of Pride is directly tied to political action and protest—and that sentiment is still relevant today.

Cody Corrall is Xtra's Social Video Producer. Their work has appeared in BuzzFeed News, TechCrunch, the Chicago Reader, CINE-FILE, Thrillist, Paste Magazine, and other places on the world wide web. He lives in Chicago and speaks English.

Senior editor Mel Woods is an English-speaking Vancouver-based writer, editor and audio producer and a former associate editor with HuffPost Canada. A proud prairie queer and ranch dressing expert, their work has also appeared in Vice, Slate, the Tyee, the CBC, the Globe and Mail and the Walrus.

Read More About:
Video, Activism, Politics, Power, Video, Europe, Pride

Keep Reading

Supporters of HIV AIDS research participate in the 2025 Toronto Pride Parade

Toronto man set to be the first Canadian cured of HIV

The patient received a stem cell transplant for his cancer that acted as a “double cure” because it contained a rare genetic mutation resistant to HIV
A photo of the outside of the New York Times building in New York City

Only 1 in 5 ‘New York Times’ news stories about trans issues quote actual trans people: report

A new 'Assigned Media' report found that the 'New York Times' rarely cited trans people in coverage about trans issues
A side by side of images from On Our Backs, a lesbian magazine.

The radical legacy of ‘On Our Backs’ magazine

“On Our Backs” filled a void by authentically documenting—and celebrating—lesbian sexuality
A side by side of two black and white photos by photographer Peter Hujar, one a self portrait and the other his piece Orgasmic Man.

The haunting photographs of Peter Hujar

Photographer Peter Hujar’s work revelled in eroticism, pain and the thin line between life and death
Advertisement