Tens of thousands braved the scorching temperatures to celebrate the Budapest Pride parade on Saturday, the first since the election defeat of Viktor Orban, who tried to ban the event last year.
"I think the situation is getting better and better, mainly because of the change in government," 18-year-old Petra Toth, who was attending her first Pride with her girlfriend, told AFP.
In April, pro-EU conservative Prime Minister Peter Magyar and his Tisza party won a landslide victory, ending Orban's 16 years in power.
Orban's government was widely regarded as having some of the European Union's most restrictive LGBTQ+ policies. Participants set off from Budapest's iconic Opera house and marched through the city center before crossing the Elisabeth Bridge over the Danube RiverImage: Attila Kisbenedek/AFP
Record turnout at Budapest Pride march in 2025
