Fatima Rahimi: DR Podcasts: Defying Orbán. A Pride parade illuminated Budapest

Thursday, Jul 10, 2025

Reporter covers Budapest Pride, noting low extremist turnout despite political climate and showing community support.

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[This is an automatically generated summary, for reference only]

Fatima Rahimi invited Deník Referendum reporter Petra Dvořáková to her studio to discuss Budapest Pride. Despite FIDESZ’s control over public institutions, expectations for high attendance at this year’s event were present. According to Dvořáková, participants feared provocations from far-right demonstrators rather than police intervention, as the latter were officially permitted. Ultimately, only a fraction of expected extremists arrived, and the police prevented them from approaching. Dvořáková noted seeing only a few individuals attempting provocation with crosses or Bibles, while photographers drew more attention; she also observed elderly attendees wearing rainbow ribbons in their gray hair. The segment raises questions about how the parade could take place given legal tools that allow authorities to prevent gatherings, what motivations led people to attend despite risks, what presence at the Pride festival signified for them, and the general reaction of Hungarian society.


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