BUDAPEST: In a historic show of defiance, an estimated 200,000 people marched in the Budapest Pride parade on Saturday, setting a new record despite a government-imposed ban. The event, now in its 30th year, saw rainbow flags waving high as participants celebrated LGBTQ rights in the Hungarian capital, according to AFP.
The turnout shattered the previous record of 35,000, coming just days after Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s nationalist government amended laws to prohibit the annual celebration, citing “child protection” as justification. However, the opposition-led Budapest city hall stepped in to co-host the march, ensuring it could proceed.
“I am proud to be gay and very scared that the government wants to bring us down,“ said Zoltan, a 66-year-old participant who declined to give his full name. “I am very surprised that there are so many people, I want to cry.”
Orban had warned of “legal consequences” for attendees, with organisers facing up to a year in prison and participants risking fines of 500 euros (RM2,474). Authorities also deployed facial-recognition cameras along the parade route to identify marchers.
Szabolcs Pek, lead analyst at the Iranytu Institute, called the massive turnout a “big embarrassment” for Orban’s Fidesz party. Government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs later accused the opposition of staging the event “at Brussels’ command,“ claiming it mocked Hungary’s sovereignty.
Marchers faced delays under scorching heat as police struggled to manage traffic, but spirits remained high. “Freedom and love can’t be banned,“ read a prominent banner near city hall.
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen and 33 nations had earlier condemned Hungary’s ban. Since 2010, Orban’s government has steadily eroded LGBTQ rights, becoming the first EU country to outlaw a Pride march.
Far-right groups staged counter-protests, including one featuring a wooden cross with anti-LGBTQ slogans. Opposition leader Peter Magyar, however, called the ban a “huge own goal,“ while Budapest mayor Gergely Karacsony thanked Orban for unintentionally promoting tolerance.
Not all locals supported the event. Katalin, who declined to give her surname, called the parade “disgusting” and said it had become a “fad.”
