Hungary Bans Second Pride in 1 Year
The Hungarian authorities have banned the upcoming Pécs Pride, scheduled for 4 October 2025 — the second Pride ban in Hungary this year after Budapest Pride. Despite the ban, Budapest Pride drew a record-breaking 300,000 participants, ten times its usual turnout, showing that Hungarian citizens are refusing to surrender their freedoms.
Pécs Pride, the only Pride event outside the capital, was banned by the Hungarian police on 5 September and the country’s Supreme Court (Kúria) upheld the decision. Unlike Budapest Pride, organised by the municipality, Pécs Pride is coordinated by a private citizen — leaving organisers vulnerable to criminal prosecution with up to one year in prison, and participants exposed to facial recognition surveillance and heavy fines.
The ban is based on Hungary’s April 2025 amendment to its Assembly Act, which allows authorities to prohibit any public gathering that “depicts or promotes homosexuality or gender diversity” — in blatant violation of EU law and fundamental rights.
Rémy Bonny joins Pécs Pride despite the ban
Rémy Bonny, Executive Director of Forbidden Colours, will join the banned march in Pécs this Saturday as one of the only international guests. His presence is a deliberate act of solidarity and political pressure, aimed at bringing international visibility and protection to Hungarian activists on the ground.
“I will be marching in Pécs because we cannot let Orbán decide where democracy applies and where it doesn’t,” said Rémy Bonny. “Hungary has become a Trojan horse for Russia’s authoritarian ideology inside the EU. If we allow this regime to criminalise freedom of assembly, we are surrendering the future of European democracy.”
“This Pride ban is not an isolated act, it’s part of a broader strategy to dismantle democratic rights from within. We call on the European Commission to launch a formal infringement procedure and take Hungary to the Court of Justice. Member States must treat this not as a niche human rights issue, but as a national security threat to the entire Union,” Bonny added.
A clear violation of EU law
The ban on Pécs Pride violates multiple fundamental rights enshrined in EU law, including equality and non-discrimination, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and association, and the right to data protection. Both the European Commission and the Attorney General have found that the Assembly Act amendments breach EU law as part of the ongoing infringement case on Hungary’s “Child Protection Law” (C-769/22).
Forbidden Colours urges:
- The European Commission to use all enforcement mechanisms to lift the ban, protect organisers and participants, and open accelerated infringement procedures against Hungary’s abuse of facial recognition technology;
- EU Member States to publicly condemn the ban and support Hungarian civil society on the ground;
- Members of the European Parliament to denounce this attack and stand in solidarity with the Hungarian LGBTQI+ community.
Background
Since April 2025, Hungary has repeatedly used the Assembly Act amendments to ban LGBTQI-related gatherings, from protests on legal gender recognition to Holocaust remembrance events. In each case, authorities have used the sexual orientation or gender identity of organisers or speakers as grounds for prohibition.
The organiser of Pécs Pride faces imprisonment, while participants risk fines and surveillance. Meanwhile, authorities have authorised five far-right counter-demonstrations for the same day, escalating security concerns.
