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20 March 2025

Hungary bans Pride marches in latest crackdown on LGBTQ+ rights

Police have also been given powers to use facial recognition technology to track attendees

By Dale Fox

Crowd gathered at a protest in Budapest with smoke in the air
Pro-Pride protests have taken place in Hungary (Image: @Noirsoldat_/X)

Hungary has officially banned LGBTQ+ Pride marches, triggering protests across the country and international condemnation.

The law, fast-tracked by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party, was passed in parliament on Tuesday, 18 March. It prohibits public events that the government claims could harm children’s “moral development.”

This builds on a 2021 law banning the portrayal of homosexuality and transgender topics to minors. Under the new law, anyone attending or organising a Pride march faces fines of up to €500 (£420). Police have also been granted powers to use facial recognition technology to track participants.

During the vote, opposition MPs lit flares inside parliament in protest. Meanwhile, demonstrators blocked Budapest’s Margaret Bridge, chanting: “Assembly is a fundamental right,” BBC News reported.

Budapest’s mayor, Gergely Karácsony, condemned the law and insisted the planned Pride march on 28 June will go ahead. “Budapest is a city of freedom. There will be Pride,” he declared, according to Reuters.

The decision has sparked backlash across Europe. Hadja Lahbib, the EU’s equality commissioner, criticised the ban, stating on X that “everyone should be able to live and love freely” and reaffirming the EU’s support for LGBTQ+ rights. Amnesty International described the move as an “outrageous attack on basic freedoms,” while Hungary’s rising opposition party, Tisza, vowed to overturn the law if it wins next year’s election.

LGBTQ+ rights in Hungary

This is the latest in a series of attacks on LGBTQ+ rights in Hungary. Same-sex marriage remains illegal, and in 2020, the government ended legal recognition for transgender people, preventing them from changing their gender on official documents.

The 2021 “anti-LGBTQ+ propaganda” law banned educational materials and media content featuring LGBTQ+ themes if deemed accessible to minors. Critics have drawn comparisons to Russia’s restrictive policies, arguing that Hungary is moving further away from EU democratic standards.

Hungary currently ranks among the worst in the EU for LGBTQ+ rights, scoring just 32% on ILGA-Europe’s Rainbow Map.

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