200,000 Attend Budapest Pride Defying Orban Ban Amid EU LGBTQ Backlash

Despite a government ban and legal threats from Prime Minister Viktor Orban's nationalist administration, a record-breaking estimated 200,000 people marched in Budapest's 30th Pride parade, marking a significant act of defiance against Hungary’s crackdown on LGBTQ+ rights. The government recently amended laws and the constitution to prohibit the annual event, citing "child protection" as justification and empowering authorities to use facial recognition technology to identify participants, who could face fines or prison. Opposition-run Budapest city hall co-hosted the event, ensuring it proceeded peacefully despite Orban's warnings of legal consequences. The parade attracted widespread European solidarity, with multiple EU countries' ministers, lawmakers, and the European Commission president calling for the ban to be overturned and supporting the right to march. Organizers and participants framed the event as a broader struggle for freedom, equality, and resistance against democratic backsliding and authoritarianism in Hungary. This massive turnout is seen as a rebuke to Orban’s policies and a testament to civil society's resilience amid a rising culture war and political tensions ahead of upcoming elections.