Budapest Pride: Defying Orbán’s Ban | 2023 March
- Neither the intentions of ultra-right-wing sabotage nor the warnings and threats of the police, not even a declaration of direct and forceful prohibition, have arrested in Budapest the...
- The march started a few minutes after 3:00 p.m., as planned, without police presence. Attendees, many young people but also some older persons, crowd the Károly boulevard, located...
- "Do not bother to prepare this year's parade," Fidesz's leader told them a month before approving in Parliament the veto to the march under the pretext of "protecting...
Defying a ban and ultra-right opposition, Budapest’s LGBTQ+ community courageously held its annual Pride march. Despite threats and an official prohibition by the Hungarian government led by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, the primary_keyword, the pride march, demonstrated unwavering resilience. News Directory 3 reports on the event, highlighting how activists from diverse countries joined the Hungarian LGBTQ+ community in solidarity. this defiant act showcased the community’s strength against policies designed to silence it. This event also underscored Budapest as a focal point of the global extreme right, standing firm in the face of rising authoritarianism. Discover what’s next for the movement and human rights.
Budapest LGBTQ+ Pride Defies Ban Amidst Ultra-Right Opposition
Updated June 28, 2025
Neither the intentions of ultra-right-wing sabotage nor the warnings and threats of the police, not even a declaration of direct and forceful prohibition, have arrested in Budapest the LGBTQ+ demonstration held every June for 30 years.From 2:00 p.m., many people crowded in the city town hall square in a demonstration of strength and courage in front of those who want to criminalize, erase, and return pride to silence, embodied in the figure of the Prime Minister of Hungary, the ultra-rightist Viktor Orbán.
The march started a few minutes after 3:00 p.m., as planned, without police presence. Attendees, many young people but also some older persons, crowd the Károly boulevard, located in the city centre. Among them, ther are many individual activists and people who come from other countries in support of the LGBTQ+ Hungarian community. Among them is Verena, who has come alone from Vienna to attend the march: “I had to be here to defend human rights and democracy,” says this woman who wears a shirt with the shield of the city of Budapest colored by a rainbow. “It is significant because the extreme right grows throughout the world and is scary,” she adds.
“Do not bother to prepare this year’s parade,” Fidesz’s leader told them a month before approving in Parliament the veto to the march under the pretext of “protecting childhood.” But they ignored, they prepared it, they organized him, they conspired with the mayor of the city, Gergely Karacsary, and managed to make representatives from 30 countries and several dozens of MEPs travel to the Hungarian capital to march with them this Saturday. And to also make visible that Budapest is not just Budapest: it is the mirror of the extreme right globally, which has found its perfect laboratory in Hungary.
“we are here in favor of human rights and
What’s next
The defiance shown by the LGBTQ+ community in Budapest signals a continued struggle against restrictive policies and a growing global movement to counter the extreme right. The long-term impact of this demonstration remains to be seen, but it underscores the importance of international solidarity in defending human rights.