Tens of thousands of people marched through central Budapest to celebrate the city’s first Pride parade since Viktor Orbán was voted out, with participants taking to the streets despite extreme heat.

Organizers and attendees said the event had symbolic significance because Orban’s government had tried to prohibit Pride events last year as part of what it described as a broader effort to restrict LGBTQ+ activity. That ban was backed by arguments that Pride should be limited to protect children, and it followed years in which Hungary under Orban adopted some of Europe’s most restrictive LGBTQ+ policies.

The march began near Budapest’s Opera House, moved through the city center, and crossed the Elisabeth Bridge over the Danube. Attendees included young people attending Pride for the first time, many framing the demonstration as both a celebration and a response to the previous government’s approach.

Orban’s election defeat came after more than a decade in power, ending a long period marked by international criticism over LGBTQ+ restrictions. Supporters of the new government said the political shift could bring gradual improvement, while others cautioned that concrete legal reversals may take time.

So far, Hungary’s new leaders have signaled a more permissive tone, but the article notes that major policy changes on LGBTQ+ rights have not yet been clearly laid out, leaving participants focused on both visibility in the present and the prospects for reforms ahead