Leader says LGBTQ+ march in Hungarian capital will go ahead despite Viktor Orbán’s government’s ruling
The mayor of Budapest has vowed to go ahead with the city’s Pride march next weekend, declaring he will “come up with a plan C” even if the police try to impose a government-backed ban.
Hungarian police said on Thursday they were banning the country’s main Pride march from taking place in the capital, citing recent legislation passed by Viktor Orbán’s government that prohibits the promotion of same-sex relationships to under-18s.
“The police, acting within their authority over public assemblies, prohibit the holding of the assembly at the aforementioned location and time,” the police said.
But Gergely Karácsony, the liberal mayor, said the gathering would go ahead regardless, saying the police decision had “no value” because the march did not require official authorisation as it was a municipal event organised by the city council.
