Estimates in the Hungarian media put the crowd at between 100,000 and 200,000 participants, making it the largest Pride event in Hungary’s history.
Despite the national ban, Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony declared the event a municipal gathering, allowing it to proceed legally under city jurisdiction.
“We will not allow our city to be silenced,” Karácsony said in a statement earlier in the week.
The march remained peaceful, though tensions simmered beneath the surface. Rights groups expressed concern over reports that law enforcement used facial recognition technology to monitor the crowd, and that organizers risked potential fines or even jail time. Still, the mood remained defiant and celebratory.
This year’s Pride drew international attention, with delegations from more than 30 countries, including over 70 members of the European Parliament and numerous foreign diplomats. Their presence was widely seen as a message of solidarity with Hungary’s LGBTQ+ community and a broader call to defend democratic norms in the region.
Organizers emphasized the intersection of queer rights and democratic freedoms, pointing out that this year’s Pride was about more than just visibility.
Love, freedom and diversity were the focus of the speeches delivered by speakers at the event.
Ildikó Kovalcsik, one of the hosts of the event that followed the march, said the parade showed that there was “a unity that is about love, peace, equality and holding hands”.
Singer Kati Wolf said she stood in solidarity with the LGBTQ community and every minority because “love belongs to everyone”.
Kristóf Steiner, the other host, said the event was “the biggest Budapest Pride of all time”.
Hella Zsirka, a trans rights activist and the operative manager of the Háttér Society, said talented people were leaving Hungary “because they can’t stand all the hate”.
“We are people … they can’t just do whatever they want with us, they can’t drive us away from our own country because we are at home here, too,” Zsirka said.
Nikoletta Bogádi of the Living Library for Human Rights and the Parents for LGBTQ+ People NGOs said it was not Pride that children needed to be protected from, but exclusionary thinking.
Nicolae Stefanuta, the vice-president of the European Parliament, told participants in Hungarian that love was not a crime, but something that needed to be protected and cherished, adding that love was stronger than hate.
Actress Patrícia Kovács said one of the most important social issues was that “none of us are truly free as long as there are those who are stripped of their rights, and none of us are truly equal as long as there are those who are less equal.”
The event’s supporters included the opposition Democratic Coalition, the satirical Two-Tailed Dog Party, the Political Capital think-tank, and the Tanítanék (I Want To Teach) Movement.
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