Tens of thousands march at first Budapest Pride since Orbán's ouster, as anti-LGBTQ laws persist

A defiant, joyful march

Tens of thousands of people, mostly young, braved 38°C heat in Budapest on Saturday to join the first Pride parade since the electoral defeat of right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Participants waved small rainbow flags or large banners, many cooling themselves with rainbow-coloured fans. The turnout was lower than the more than 200,000 who defied a ban in 2025 but higher than the roughly 35,000 seen each year before the last edition, according to an AFP journalist on the ground. Organisers had urged vulnerable people to stay home and watch online while distributing free water, though supplies were limited and marchers were asked to bring their own.

“I think the situation is getting better and better (for LGBTQ+ people) mainly because of the change of government.”

The 18-year-old travelled from a small town in southern Hungary with her girlfriend to attend her first Pride. Her sentiment echoed the relief that swept through the community after the April election win of conservative pro-European Péter Magyar, who ended Orbán's 16-year rule.

Laws still on the books

Despite the change at the top, the anti-LGBTQ legislation enacted under Orbán remains untouched. The 2021 "child protection" law, tightened further in 2025, was used last year to try to ban the Pride parade (the ban was circumvented when opposition mayor Gergely Karácsony designated the event a municipal assembly). Magyar has spoken regularly in favour of equality and freedom of assembly but has not issued a formal endorsement of Pride and has taken no concrete steps to roll back the laws. During the campaign he avoided the subject; since taking office he has said his government will not tell people how to live.

“Everyone is free to love who they want and live with who they want, as long as they don't break the law.”

He made the remark earlier in June when asked about marriage and adoption rights for same-sex couples.

Europe steps in

In April, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that Hungary's anti-LGBTQ legislation violates EU fundamental freedoms. That ruling, together with the new political climate, led prosecutors in early June to drop the criminal charges that had been filed against Karácsony in January for allowing the 2025 march. EU Equality Commissioner Hadja Lahbib drew a direct line from the mass defiance of 2025 to the present moment during a press conference with Karácsony.

“Last year's march did not only make history. It helped change history — and what a difference in a year. Today's Pride is the latest proof of that new start. The winds of change are blowing through this great nation, and we all feel it.”

She recalled that hundreds of thousands of people from 30 countries had turned out in 2025. The commissioner's presence and the dropped prosecution symbolise a widening space for LGBTQ+ expression, even if the legal architecture of the Orbán era has not yet been dismantled.

Key moments on the road back to the streets

The timeline from the original anti-LGBTQ bill to Saturday's parade illustrates how quickly the landscape has shifted. The 2021 law and its 2025 tightening were met first with an attempted ban, then with record-breaking civil disobedience, and finally with a legal and political reset after Orbán's removal. Yet the laws themselves remain, meaning the Pride's return is a celebration of de facto freedom while the fight for the statute book continues.