Tens of thousands march in the first Budapest Pride since Viktor Orbán was voted out

Tens of thousands of people marched through Budapest on June 27 in the city’s 31st Pride parade, the first since Viktor Orbán was voted out in April.

The event carried unusual political weight. Police authorized the march, which began at the Opera House and crossed Erzsebet Bridge, while Hungary’s new government still has not repealed the Orbán-era restrictions that continue to shape the legal status of Pride and LGBTQ rights.

For many participants, the atmosphere felt calmer than in recent years. Organizers and supporters described a sense of relief after Orbán’s defeat, even as fear has not disappeared inside Hungary’s LGBTQ community.

A different political backdrop

The march came after Péter Magyar’s Tisza party defeated Orbán’s Fidesz-KDNP in Hungary’s April election. That change in government altered the tone around Pride, but it did not immediately change the law.

Orbán’s government spent years advancing anti-LGBTQ policy and trying to restrict Pride events. Last year’s Budapest Pride went ahead in defiance of a ban and was reported as the largest in Hungary’s history.

This year’s march therefore marked both continuity and change: the parade was authorized and publicly held, but the legislation behind earlier restrictions remains on the books.

Heat, water and turnout

Budapest Pride took place during a 38C heat wave. Organizers and city services provided water for participants as the march made its way across the city.

AP reported that tens of thousands took part. The scale of the turnout underscored how the event has become more than a parade: it is also a public measure of how Hungary’s new political era will treat LGBTQ people and civil rights.

Legal pressure remains

The legal backdrop is still unsettled. In April, the European Court of Justice ruled that Hungary’s 2021 anti-LGBTQ law violates EU law and human-rights principles.

That ruling increases pressure on Magyar’s government to act, but it does not by itself repeal the law. Hungarian officials have not yet removed the restrictions that were introduced under Orbán.

For LGBTQ Hungarians, organizers and allies, that leaves Pride in a fragile position. The march can proceed under police authorization, but the wider fight over rights and recognition is unresolved.

What comes next

The main questions now are political and legal. Observers will be watching whether Magyar’s government moves to repeal the Orbán-era law, whether Budapest officials keep supporting future Pride events, and whether EU pressure leads to concrete legislative change.

The June 27 march suggested that the atmosphere in Budapest has changed. Whether that shift becomes lasting policy will depend on what the new government does next.