Thousands brave heatwave for Budapest Pride
Europe may be in the grips of a brutal heatwave but that didn’t stop LGBTQ folks and their supporters braving record temperatures to celebrate Pride in Budapest.
Thousands of Hungarians took part in the annual Budapest Pride march on Saturday, July 23, even though temperatures reached around 104 degrees, which is unusually hot for Hungary. According to Budapest Pride the crowd topped 35,000 participants.
Hungary’s government is notoriously conservative and has drawn the ire of the European Union for its regressive stance on LGBTQ rights. The LGBTQ community of Budapest and its surrounding regions turned out in full for to show that it will not stop fighting the government policies on LGBTQ rights that have drawn EU chastisement.
It comes as the European Commission sued Hungary earlier in July over a law passed last year to limit teaching about homosexuality and transgender issues in schools, the latest anti-LGBTQ measure to be passed by the reactionary government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
While Orban’s spin is that the law protects children, human rights watchdogs argue that is actively discriminates against and erases the country’s LGBTQ population. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen labeled the law a “disgrace.”
Orban, who came to power in 2010, built a successful platform by cracking down on immigration and pushing a “Christian values” vs. Western liberalism line in legislation. Oran spoke on July 23 in Romania outlining his chief concerns as including gender politics.
This, the 27th annual Pride in Budapest was seen as pivotal, with embassies, institutions, and organizations signing a Joint Statement in support of Budapest Pride.
