More than 200,000 people attended Budapest Pride in 2025, according to organisers. The march, which took place on Saturday, was the first since the ousting of Viktor Orbán's government and comes amid cautious hope for LGBTQ+ rights in Hungary.
Record Turnout and Defiance
Last year's Pride acted as a mass expression of defiance against Orbán's government, which sought to ban the event. Bolstered by civil society groups and the city's mayor, Budapest Pride went ahead with over 200,000 attenders, turning it into a show of force for freedom, equality and the right to assemble.
This year's event was marked by sweeping political changes in Hungary. About 10 months after the record turnout, Orbán's Fidesz party was ousted from power as Péter Magyar and his Tisza party won a landslide victory in parliamentary elections.
Lingering Stigma and Fear
Despite the political shift, many in the LGBTQ+ community continue to reel from the stigma spread by Orbán's government and its crackdown on rights, said Petra Buzás, part of the organising team. “We cannot yet speak of a meaningful, widely perceptible change in the everyday lives of LGBTQ people,” Buzás said. “Many people are still afraid to be open about who they are, about their families, or their relationships, and social stigma remains strong.”
The comments hint at the turmoil that continues after Orbán's 16 years in power. As the nationalist leader sought to portray himself as the champion of traditional Christian and family values, he led a determined crackdown on LGBTQ+ rights, culminating in a law – the first of its kind in the EU's recent history – that sought to ban Pride events.
Cautiously Encouraging Shifts
Buzás noted “cautiously encouraging” shifts. “Compared with the openly hostile government communication of previous years, there have now been several signs suggesting at least a more open attitude towards the LGBTQ community,” she said. “This gives us reason to hope, but our trust is tied not to words or gestures but to concrete legislative and institutional steps.”
On the night of his election victory, Magyar called for a Hungary where “no one is stigmatised for thinking differently than the majority, or loving differently than the majority,” while recently he called on Orbán's Fidesz party to “get out of the bedrooms of the Hungarian people as soon as possible.”
Unrepealed Anti-LGBTQ+ Laws
However, Magyar has not made any mention of Pride events, nor has his recently formed conservative government moved to reverse Orbán's legislation barring such events. This month, a coalition of civil society groups called on the government to repeal the legislation, noting that it had “no place in a democratic state governed by the rule of law.”
Other anti-LGBTQ+ laws introduced by Orbán's government are also yet to be repealed. “The most important obstacles still remain,” said Buzás, citing legislation that restricts the presence of LGBTQ+ topics in schools, media and bookstores, curtails adoptions by same-sex couples and denies the right to legal gender recognition for transgender and intersex people.
Weaponisation of LGBTQ+ Rights
The changing fortunes of Budapest Pride come as campaigners say that far-right politicians in Europe and beyond are weaponising LGBTQ+ rights and sowing divisions that are sending hate crimes soaring. It is a reality that has again turned Budapest Pride – which, when it launched in 1997, was the first march of its kind in central and eastern Europe – into a potent symbol after the community stood up against Orbán, one of the world's most successful populist leaders.
“The story of the Hungarian LGBTQ community in recent years has also shown that repression does not always achieve its goal,” said Buzás. “Those in power may try to create fear, restrict a community through laws and stigmatise it through propaganda, but this can also backfire: for many people, it makes clear that standing up for the rights of the community is in fact about the freedom of all of us.”
