The mayor of Budapest has vowed to defy Hungary’s ban on Pride events by allowing Budapest Pride to take place as part of another event.

Mayor Gergely Karácsony announced that Budapest Pride would return regardless of the recently-passed Hungarian law, declaring that “freedom and love cannot be banned.”

Legislation approved in March by Hungary’s right-wing prime minister Viktor Orbán bans LGBTQ+ marches from taking place.

The so-called “child protection” law permits city districts to fine Pride organisers up to 200,000 forints (£420) for hosting or participating in public Pride events. It also allows authorities to use facial recognition to identify attendees.

The move was met with fury from Hungarian citizens across the European country, thousands of whom took to the streets in protest.

The Muncipality of Budapest, alongside the Rainbow Mission Foundation, said in a statement it planned to revive ‘Budapest Freedom Day,’ which it described as the “former tradition of celebrating freedom every June” commemorating the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Hungary.

In defiance of the law, it said the theme for 2025’s Budapest Freedom Day would be Budapest Pride.

Mayor Karácsony said Budapest Pride aims to be a “celebration of joy and freedom,” adding that its main message is that “everyone is entitled to the inalienable right of human dignity.”

“No one in Budapest should suffer discriminatrion because of what they believe in, where they were born, and certainly because of whom they love,” he said. “In Budapest, the freedom of others is just as important as our own.”

The 50-year-old said he was proud of the “diversity” that Budapest Pride has promoted in the city for more than 30 years.

Hungarians have a ‘constitutional right’ to protest, Budapest Pride spokesperson says

Máté Hegedűs, a spokesperson for Budapest Pride, said it was the “consitutional right” of every Hungarian to “gather peacefully, to be together, and to march for our human dignity and our fundamental rights.”

“That’s what we will do on 28 June,” he added. “Courageously, authentically, organising our community.

“This fight is not only for the LGBTQ+ community, but for everyone. Together with Budapest, we will defend ourselves and those who are now afraid, those who are now silent, those who are now in danger. Civil society, Hungarian citizens. We will be the voice.”

In April, more than 10,000 protestors came together for what was the third major demonstration against Orbán following the passing of the Pride ban bill.

Protestors deploring the 61-year-old Hungarian leader’s anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric said his “corrupt” government “needs to fall.”

22 embassies, including France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, signed an open letter expressing significant concern over the Pride ban, saying it restricts “on the right of peaceful assembly and the freedom of expression.”

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