With slogans like “Freedom and love cannot be banished” printed in colorful letters on large banners, the annual Pride parade in the Hungarian capital Budapest has been marching through the city. It was previously banned by the far-right government of President Viktor Orban. But Budapest’s green mayor, Gergely Karacsony, vowed to protect the protesters at all costs.

According to the organizers, “180,000 to 200,000 people” took part in the parade. 35,000 people were expected in advance, and even with that size, this Pride in Budapest would have been the largest Pride since it started in the 1990s. “It is difficult to determine the exact number, because never before have so many people come to Pride in Budapest,” Viktoria Radvanyi, the event’s chairwoman, told the French news agency AFP.

Dozens of Belgians have also descended on the Hungarian capital. According to Thomas Jans, spokesman for çavaria, “the atmosphere is festive”. We see and hear people waving rainbow flags from buildings and shouting at us loudly. They normally wouldn’t dare to do that.”

At the same time as Pride, several counter-demonstrations also took place in Budapest - which had been given permission by the Hungarian police. The far-right party Mi Hazánk Mozgalom ('Our Fatherland Movement') also organised a counter-march along the same route as Pride. Quite a few conservative Christian counter-demonstrators showed up, but it does not seem to have led to major riots.