In direct defiance of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and the government’s ban on Pride, tens of thousands in Hungary turned out in Budapest to make the event happen regardless.
To the right-wing ruling Fidesz party’s dismay, whom Orbán is a part of, their passing of an amendment that outlaws in part events that highlight the “depiction or promotion” of homosexuality to minors is what some said brought them out to join the festivities.
“We came because they tried to ban it,” said Timi, a Hungary national, to The Guardian of her and her daughter, Zsófi, who had travelled from her home in Barcelona to join the rally.
The mayor of the city, Gergely Karácsony, both acknowledged the police’s statement that they would ban the march originally planned for late June, and sidestepped them by announcing the march would go on as a separate municipal event. Karácsony described the move as a way to circumvent the need for official authorization.
At the start of Saturday, Karácsony spoke to why the city had decided to host the event anyway, nodding at how the march had grown to be a symbol of discontent toward the weakening of democratic institutions and rule of law the government had imposed upon its people.
“The government is always fighting against an enemy against which they have to protect Hungarian people,” said Karácsony. “This time, it is sexual minorities that are the target … we believe there should be no first and second-class citizens, so we decided to stand by this event.”
Akos Horvath, 18, who had travelled two hours from his city in southern Hungary to take part in the march, described the event to news outlet AFP as being of “symbolic importance”. “It’s not just about representing gay people, but about standing up for the rights of the Hungarian people,” Horvath added.
In a shock turnout, in which organizers only anticipated around 35,000 to 40,000 people to come out, the real number is said to be in the hundreds of thousands.
“We believe there are 180,000 to 200,000 people attending,” the president of Pride, Viktória Radványi said to AFP. “It is hard to estimate because there have never been so many people at Budapest Pride.”