Budapest Pride Marches In the Face of Oppression

June 29, 2025
HANK ORSO

The fist of oppression is being felt by the queer community now more than ever, as Trump's influence extends beyond the borders of America and to the eager ears of autocratic governments around the world. And that is exactly when we remember that Stonewall was a riot, not a march. Today is Pride Day, with many major cities hosting their large parades, while smaller cities have already had theirs or will in the next couple of months. One large city that has faced what would seem insurmountable odds to hold their Pride high is Budapest, and despite the official ban by Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the LGBTQ+ community there pulled it off, bigger than expected, the NY Times reports.

Orban promised fierce consequences for anyone participating in the parade, one which is usually a smaller affair with a few thousand community members and allies. But after being warned to stay away, the parade on Saturday found in excess of 100,000 (some reporting close to 200,000) people marching through the capital city, in a clear message of resistance to Orban's policies and his government in general.

Their parliament, under Orban's authority, made quick to pass legislation last May, making political gatherings such as Pride parades illegal under the guise of child protection and to bolster a previous law "banning material that 'propagates' homosexuality." Fines and prison sentences would be enacted for participants and organizers.

"To prevent Mr. Orban’s government from derailing this year’s Pride parade, an annual fixture since 1995, Budapest’s liberal mayor, Gergely Karacsony, recast it as a municipal event celebrating Hungary’s recovery of full freedom when Soviet troops pulled out in June 1991. He allowed it to go ahead, renamed as Budapest Pride Freedom." (NY Times.)

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A planned and sanctioned right-wing counter protest fizzled, as they attempted to block access across a bridge over the Danube River along the planned route. Marchers simply diverted course and crossed another bridge. And the police response to the parade was largely negligible. As they stood on the sidelines, mostly button-down and respectful marchers and onlookers gave Orban's media machine nothing to "prove" that the parade, as they warned, would be a bacchanalia on par with parades in San Francisco or other Western cities. Organizers asked participants to keep their dress and behavior conservative and respectful, and that wish was granted. Only a couple of small skirmishes were reported with religious zealots.

It's the Western influence, Orban has argued, that challenges the sanctity of Hungary's conservative view. He's aligned with Trump in his stance against the LGBTQ+ community. The two often sound alike in their mutual parroting of anti-gay rhetoric that they see as attacks with "woke" and "gender ideology." And both leaders are fighting against a rising tide of constituents who see their social attacks as a smokescreen against clear leadership failings, especially when it comes to their governments' economies, as they "rev up their right-wing, rural base." Sound familiar?

Orban is facing negative polling and a possible loss in the next election after fifteen years in power. And the world is taking notice. While previous marches saw a few EU ploticians join in, this year more than 70 came to support the Hungarian queer community.

"Agnes Mehn, 59, another first-time attendee, brought her son, who uses a wheelchair, to the march, saying she 'was fed up with this government trying to make us all afraid.' She said she had never attended in the past because she was not particularly interested in LGBTQ. issues, but 'this year it was very important to come and show that we are not afraid and don’t agree with what they are doing.'"