Hungary's LGBTQ+ Defy Pride Bans

Special Feature

Hungary’s LGBTQ+ community pushes back against Orbán’s Pride bans

In 1995, Hungary held its first LGBTQ+ Pride parade in Budapest, a bold act in a post-Soviet society still defining its freedoms. Thirty years later, LGBTQ+ Hungarians reflect on a journey marked by resilience and regression.

In March 2025, the Hungarian Parliament passed a law that gave police the basis to ban Pride parades. It has also instituted a constitutional amendment that defines family strictly as a union between a man and woman. Prime Minister Orbán’s government continues to push anti-LGBTQ+ narratives, casting queer identity as a foreign threat and anti-Christian.

Despite the setbacks, and with the support of Budapest’s liberal mayor, organizers held the 30th Pride March in Budapest. And in the face of Orbán’s threats of “legal consequences,” an estimated 200,000 marched on Friday’s Pride Protest.

Read Reuters’ special report

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