By Boldizsar Gyori
BUDAPEST (Reuters) – Thousands of Hungarians braved scorching heat for the annual Pride march in Budapest on Saturday, protesting against government controls over public displays by the LGBT community.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government promotes a Christian-conservative agenda and in 2021 banned the “display and promotion of homosexuality” among those under 18 despite strong criticism from rights groups and the European Union.
“Our basic sentiment right now is to hold the community together, and provide a space for everyone where people can live what they are and be among supportive peers regardless of the (political) situation we all are in,” said Mate Hidveghi, spokesperson of the Pride march.
“Since the adoption of this law, the number of people participating at the Pride march almost doubled.”
Participants waved rainbow flags, danced and cheered as they walked through the Hungarian capital’s downtown.
Neither organisers nor the government gave a number for the marchers, though witnesses estimated about 10,000.
TV ads for the Pride parade were only allowed to be aired late at night, with most channels not taking the risk at all, Hungarian news site Telex.hu reported.
Also this week, Hungary’s second-largest bookseller received a record fine for selling a book that depicts homosexuality without closed wrapping.
On Friday, the embassies of the United States, Germany and 36 other countries urged Hungary to protect LGBT rights and scrap discriminatory laws.
U.S. ambassador David Pressman and many other diplomats participated in Saturday’s march.
The government stance towards Hungary’s LGBT community was seen as resonating with Orban’s conservative voters in the countryside ahead of his fourth-term election win in 2022.
(Reporting by Boldizsar Gyori; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
