CNN
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Amidst the flames of the rainbow flag and the roar of rebellion, a large crowd gathered in Budapest, the capital of Hungarian, for the city’s 30th Pride Pride March. This year, it is being held as both a celebration and a protest.
Moving through the capital in the heat of the heat, demonstrators read “Solidarity with Budapest’s pride” and waved placards beyond the illustrations of Prime Minister Victor Orban.
Music played from portable speakers when people of all ages joined in March – strollers, cape-covered teenagers and senior teenagers walking alongside activists.
From the city’s historic centre to the riverside roads, the queues swelled in numbers and noise.
The march went publicly against the police ban imposed earlier this year under a new law banning LGBTQ+ events.
At least 70 members of the European Parliament were expected to join the procession, officials told CNN in May.
Van Sparentak, Dutch MEP of the Parliament’s “Green/European Freedom Alliance” political group, told CNN that he would let them know “to support the Hungary LGBTIQ+ community and let them know they’re not alone.”
“Pride is a protest and one election that leaves all pride away from being banned if Orban can ban Budapest’s pride without consequences,” she continued.
In March, Hungarian lawmakers banned pride events and allowed participants to be identified by allowing them to use facial recognition technology.
Orban welcomed the ban and said he would ban assembly “violating the Child Protection Act.” His government is strongly promoting Christianity and a conservative agenda.
The ban sparked a vibrant protest in Budapest in March, with city pride organizers pledging to continue the annual festival despite new laws and declared “fighting this new fascist ban.”
The petition demanding police rejected the ban, gathering over 120,000 signatures from supporters in 73 countries, urging authorities to “deny this unfair law.”
Catherine Nichols and Billy Stockwell of CNN contributed to this report.
