Over 100,000 people turned out for Budapest Pride in defiance of homophobic prime minister Viktor Orban

The reminder that “Pride started as a protest” has become so overused, the phrase can appear to carry little meaning. But the incredible act of defiance that occurred this past weekend in rebuke of Hungary prime minister Viktor Orban was stirring enough to inspire even the most jaded cynic.

In the lead-up to this year’s Pride parade in Budapest, the Hungarian capital, Orban banned the festivities and threatened anybody who showed up with a $600 fine, as well as possible imprisonment for organizers. The announced crackdown was the wannabe despot’s latest broadside in his attacks against the Eastern European nation’s LGBTQ+ community.

Desperate to cling onto power, Orban has scapegoated queer people, like many right-wing authoritarians before him. Earlier this year, Orban’s party passed a constitutional amendment that forbids public LGBTQ+ events, in an attempt to counter the rising popularity of an opposition leader, the New York Times reports.

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Leading into the weekend, Hungarian authorities said they would use facial recognition cameras to identify attendees. Police warned people to stay home, and permits were granted to antigay protesters, setting the scene for potential physical conflict.

Even though Budapest’s liberal mayor declared the parade was a municipal event, trying to circumvent the ban, LGBTQ+ activists feared the scare tactics would work. The Washington Post embedded with organizer and local queer celebrity Kristof Steiner, who says he woke up Saturday morning “feeling sick.”

Then the crowds started to gather. As Steiner marched towards the parade’s starting point, he saw the streets were jammed. In total, more than 100,000 people showed up, standing up for LGBTQ+ people and against authoritarianism.

The stunning visuals spread around the world.

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The trajectory of Budapest’s Pride celebrations mirrors trends in the U.S. and most of the Western world. Despite Orban’s regressive rule, the cosmopolitan capital has remained a progressive bastion, culturally insulated from the national government’s homophobia and intolerance.

In recent years, the Pride parade has topped 30,000 attendees, with big banks and corporations sponsoring the festivities, according to WaPo.

The article describes the scene as “more dance party than protest.”

But this year, the event was more of an uprising. It quickly became apparent that many participants showed up to stick up their rainbow-tinged middle fingers towards an increasing unpopular regime.

The intoxicating feeling of resistance was prevalent at Pride celebrations this past weekend in the U.S., too. Millions of queer people and their allies gathered coast-to-coast, from San Francisco to New York City.

With the current administration punishing corporations that prioritize DEI, many sponsors and brands pulled back on their support for Pride this June. The retreat comes as the White House tries to exclude trans people from public life through a series of executive orders, and support for LGBTQ+ people falls for the first time in decades.

This month, the Supreme Court issued two rulings against the LGBTQ+ community. The conservative SCOTUS upheld Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors, and said parents can pull their kids from classes with LGBTQ+-themed literature.

Yet, LGBTQ+ folks were out and proud all month, a previously unfathomable reality. The parade in Budapest served as the perfect capper, and yes, reminder of what Pride is really about.

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