Hungary’s Prime Minister Péter Magyar will not attend Budapest Pride on Saturday, the 31st. As Magyar clarified earlier this week in Parliament, his Tisza government is holding a multi-day foreign-policy retreat that weekend. He stressed that the queer demonstration can proceed without any hindrance this year.
His anti‑queer predecessor Viktor Orbán had banned Budapest Pride last year (TheColu.mn reported). Nevertheless, more people participated in the march than ever before (TheColu.mn reported).
Whether the rights landscape for queer Hungarians will fundamentally improve under the new administration remains unclear. On highly contentious social issues such as same‑sex marriage or the adoption of young children by gay couples, the government said it would foster broad public discussion, Magyar announced.
Budapest’s Mayor: All Are Free — Or None
The Pride march is scheduled to begin Saturday at 3:00 p.m. from the Budapest Opera House and will proceed across the Elisabeth Bridge. Tens of thousands of participants are expected. Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony urged residents to stand united for an open Budapest. “The Pride is primarily about those whose sexual identity diverges from the majority’s, but it’s really about everyone — because if we are not all free in this city, then none of us is truly free,” the left‑green city leader said.
Moments before the event, a spotlight-grabbing incident on the Elisabeth Bridge drew attention: a 58-year-old man from Mogyoród tore rainbow flags that were flying over the city from the railing and tossed them into the Danube. The man confessed and explained that he had merely fulfilled his “duty as a family man.” He faces charges of property damage.
The far‑right Mi Hazánk party said it would reimburse the man for the anticipated fine. Party Vice President Előd Novák argued that it was a provocation when “aggressive political movements” seize a bridge for their own purposes. Mayor Karácsony responded with sarcastic thanks for the free publicity for the CSD and announced that the flags on the bridge would be raised again in time for the Pride march.
The Pride falls on Saint Ladislaus’ Feast Day
There was also resistance from Parliament to Budapest Pride: aside from Mi Hazánk, the Christian Democrats—an ally of Orbán’s Fidesz—opposed the event. They criticized the timing, noting that the queer demonstration falls on the commemoration day of Saint Ladislaus, a patronal feast revered in church circles.
Nevertheless, 44 diplomatic missions and cultural organizations, including the German Goethe-Institut, welcomed the new government’s stance in an open letter. In doing so, Budapest reaffirmed that Hungary will be a home for every Hungarian.
