28th Budapest Pride Festival

Tens of thousands of people – participants of this year's Budapest Pride – celebrated diversity by marching from the City Park towards the downtown area of Budapest and back to the City Park this Saturday afternoon. Their cause was supported by a statement signed by dozens of embassies and foreign cultural institutes.

The march featured music from the platforms of eight trucks, and participants in the demonstration danced and waved rainbow flags. Flags of the United Kingdom, the United States of America, the European Union and Canada also appeared in the procession. Among the marchers was the American Ambassador to Hungary, David Pressman.

Many of the participants waved rainbow flags or parasols. There was no shortage of international participants, with English, German, Spanish and Italian nationalities also appearing in the crowd.

The statement, issued by 38 embassies, the representation of Flanders and Wallonia as well nine foreign cultural institutes based in Budapest, pointed out that on the occasion of the 28th Budapest Pride Festival, the undersigned expressed their full support for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI+) community in Hungary and their rights to equality and non-discrimination, freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, and freedom from violence.

"Respect for the rule of law and universal human rights are the foundations upon which democratic states are built. International human rights law is grounded on the broad premise that all individuals have the same rights and freedoms without discrimination," the text said.

The communiqué stressed the inviolability of human dignity, the right to freedom of expression and information, the right to private and family life, and the right to non-discrimination for all.

"Celebrating diversity is an important way to promote respect for human rights for all. Budapest Pride has the longest history of such events in the region, and we highlight its role in promoting equality of treatment and social acceptance for all LGBTQI+ persons, and contributing to the creation of a more open, just, inclusive and equal society," the statement concluded.