Hungarians turn out in thousands for first Pride march since Viktor Orbán was voted out

Tens of thousands of people filled Budapest on Saturday for the 31st annual Budapest Pride march, celebrating the first LGBTQ+ gathering since the ousting of former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. The event took place amid soaring temperatures, with organizers distributing water and opening public fountains to help marchers cope with a record-breaking heatwave.

Participants paraded from the city's opera house across the Danube River, dancing and waving rainbow flags. Luca Uj, a third-time Pride participant, noted a more relaxed atmosphere compared to previous years. "There used to be a lot of tension. But now I see people as being somehow happier, and there are more older people, too," she said, attributing the shift to the defeat of Orbán's government, which implemented numerous anti-LGBTQ+ policies during its 16-year tenure.

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There used to be a lot of tension. But now I see people as being somehow happier, and there are more older people, too.

Despite Orbán's previous attempts to ban the event, last year's Pride saw record attendance. This year, while Hungary's new government has not repealed the legislation outlawing Pride, police authorized the event and provided security. Kristof Gyorgyi, a first-time participant, expressed optimism about the new government's potential to extend rights to sexual minorities, citing ongoing parliamentary debates on issues like same-sex adoption as positive signs.

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The fact that there’s already a debate in Parliament about whether an orphaned child is better off with a same-sex couple or in an orphanage is a positive sign.