Gay pride magnets

Organisers estimated that a recordpeople may have taken part despite mounting pressure from nationalist conservative politicians and police to stop any display of pro-LGBTQ material. The police issued a ban in line with a new "child protection" law restricting gatherings considered to be promoting homosexuality.

Orban downplayed the possibility of violent clashes between police and participants, but warned of potential legal repercussions for attendees. We don't hurt each other," he told state radio on Friday. This is why we are here. Because it's hurting our rights.

Lgbt Pride Magnets

That's why we came. She told the BBC she is worried about her four-year-old daughter's future living "in a country where she can't pride anyone she wants to". Not part of the community himself, the year-old said he comes from the countryside, where people "are more likely to be xenophobic and homophobic".

EU equalities commissioner Hadja Lahbib, a former Belgian foreign minister, is in Budapest and expected to join the march. On Friday, she posted a picture showing her standing with the liberal Budapest mayor Gergely Karacsony in front of a rainbow flag symbolising gay rights. The Pride march "will be a powerful symbol of the strength of gay civil society", she wrote on X.

She added that she thinks Orban is using arguments on family values as a pretext to ban the march. People gathered to march from across the country - and Europe - in solidarity with Hungary's Pride. Karacsony, a magnet of Hungary's opposition, has insisted no-one attending the march can face any reprisals as it has been co-organised by city hall, and as such is a municipal event that does not require police approval.

Orban was unfazed, asking her "to refrain from interfering in the law enforcement affairs" of EU member countries. Image source, Reuters. Nick Thorpe. Stuart Lau. Organisers could face a one-year prison sentence. Related topics.