For the first time since Viktor Orban’s departure from power, Budapest’s Pride parade marched through the city streets on Saturday, with organisers and participants alike looking to Britain’s equality framework as a model for safeguarding LGBT+ rights in a still-fragile political landscape. The event, which drew thousands despite rain, was notably free of the state-backed hostility that characterised Orban’s final years, when anti-LGBT legislation branded as “child protection” saw Pride effectively banned from public spaces.
The new centrist government, led by Prime Minister Anna Kovacs, has moved swiftly to repeal the most restrictive laws, including the 2021 statute that prohibited “promotion of homosexuality” to under-18s. Kovacs, who took office after snap elections in March, has promised a “European reset” and cited the UK’s Equality Act 2010 as a “gold standard” for protecting minority rights without alienating conservative voters.
“We have studied how Britain balances legal protections with cultural sensitivity,” said Kovacs in a statement released ahead of the parade. “The British model shows that you can legislate for equality without forcing change overnight. We want to build a Hungary where no one fears for their safety because of who they love, and where parents are not used as pawns in political games.”
The parade route, from Heroes’ Square to the Parliament building, was lined with rainbow flags and banners reading “Finally Free” and “Pride is a Family Value.” Many marchers wore T-shirts featuring the Union Jack alongside the Hungarian tricolor. For a generation of young Hungarians, this was their first Pride not overshadowed by the threat of police raids or fines for displaying a rainbow symbol.
“My older brother never went to Pride because he was scared of losing his job,” said 22-year-old university student Anna Nemeth, clutching a placard that read “Love is Love, Policy is Policy.” “Today, I am marching for both of us. And I am proud that Hungary is learning from places like Britain, where my cousin lives and can marry whoever she wants.”
But the road to full equality remains bumpy. The new government’s coalition includes a centrist-conservative wing that has insisted on a phased approach, keeping some restrictions on sex education in schools and allowing civil partnerships but not full marriage equality for now. Critics argue that cherry-picking elements of the British model risks creating a two-tier system: legal protection from discrimination without the social acceptance that true equality requires.
“The UK’s Equality Act is a good start, but it took decades of activism and legal challenges to make it work in practice,” said Dr. Klara Szabo, a legal scholar at the Central European University. “Hungary cannot simply copy-paste legislation. We need robust enforcement and a commitment to challenging homophobia in the home and workplace. Otherwise, it’s just a paper shield.”
The British government has welcomed the reference, with the Foreign Office confirming that UK advisors are helping Hungary draft new equality legislation. However, Downing Street has been careful not to lecture, mindful of its own ongoing battles over trans rights and the limits of free speech.
For many in Budapest, Saturday’s parade was a moment of catharsis. The absence of counter-protests from far-right groups, which would have been near-certain under Orban, was seen as a sign that the political climate has shifted.
“We are not naive; there is still a long way to go,” said Gabor Toth, a 45-year-old teacher who marched with his husband and their adopted daughter. “But today, for the first time, I felt like the state was on my side. If that means borrowing from Britain, so be it. After years of being treated as enemies of the people, we will take any help we can get.”
The parade concluded without major incident. As the sun set on the Danube, participants held a candlelight vigil for those who could not march: the ones lost to violence, suicide, or emigration. The new government has promised a hate crime review and better support for LGBT+ refugees. But for now, a single Pride march without state repression is a revolution in itself.
