Budapest Pride Revelers Defy Heat on Adorned Streets

Braving soaring temperatures, thousands of revelers set off from outside the State Opera House on Saturday for the 31st Budapest Pride Community Festival march, a vibrant celebration winding through the heart of the capital. The event was also attended by the European Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management, Hadja Lahbib.

A float blaring music led the procession, with dancers on its platform and marchers waving rainbow flags. The event drew support from the Budapest city government, which provided a bus, while NGOs including Hatter Society, Tilos Radio, Momentum, and Amnesty International contributed floats of their own.

The route, starting at the Opera, will take marchers along Andrássy Avenue, Bajcsy-Zsilinszky Road, Deák Ferenc Square, Astoria and Kossuth Lajos Street, before crossing the Elizabeth Bridge and ending at Vérmező Park, where speeches and performances will take place on a main stage.

Organizers laid out a giant EU flag in front of the Opera and a rainbow flag along Andrássy Avenue. The Swedish Embassy set up a water station at the starting point, handing out bottles labelled "LGBTQ rights are human rights".

The march is being accompanied by ambulances due to the extreme heat, with first-aid stations set up along the route.

Last week, the embassies of 35 countries, as well as cultural institutes, in Budapest issued a joint declaration, stating that they stand for dignity, equality and non-discrimination, as well as the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, in line with international human rights law and the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Among those addressing the crowd this Saturday afternoon was Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony who called for a society where human dignity and personal autonomy are fully respected. "Power is only worthy of support if it builds a country that is a home for all," he added, "one that liberates the economy, culture, civil society, and local governments – and through them, the people themselves," he said.