The Mayor of Budapest, Gergely Karácsony, has had his criminal charges dropped in relation to organising the 2025 Budapest Pride march. Hungarian authorities charged him over organising the event, after a direct order from Viktor Orbán’s government banned public gatherings involving the LGBTQ+ community, stating that those who violated the order would face criminal prosecution.

While at the Pride march, Karácsony made a speech in which he said, “Neither freedom nor love can be banned in Budapest.”

This Pride march was the largest in Hungarian history, with organisers claiming over 200,000 people attended. Some Irish attendees of the event included Green Party TD Roderic O’Gorman, Fine Gael MEP Maria Walsh and Fianna Fáil MEP Cynthia Ní Mhurcú.

Karácsony was charged in January of 2026, stating, “It seems that in this country, this is the price you pay if you stand up for your own freedom and the freedom of others.”

Despite this, he had not shied away from showing his support for LGBTQ+ communities, and he continued to display his allyship on social media.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Karácsony Gergely (@karacsony_gergely)

Prosecutors have dropped the charges against Gergely Karácsony in light of a ruling made by the European Court of Justice in April, which stated that the Hungarian government was in violation of Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union. The EU court also ruled that multiple rights protected by the bloc’s Charter of Fundamental Rights were being violated, including the prohibition on discrimination based on sex or sexual orientation, respect for private and family life, and the freedom of expression and information. 

The prosecution put out a statement saying, “Considering the ruling by the European Court… the prosecutors dropped charges against the Budapest mayor for violating the law on freedom of assembly.”

The 2026 Budapest Pride march is scheduled to take place on June 27. On May 29, Hungarian Police put out a statement, saying, “The Budapest Metropolitan Police has approved the 2026 Budapest Pride Parade and also has issued restrictive orders in relation to three counter-demonstrations.”

Budapest’s Mayor was interviewed by POLITICO recently, where he reaffirmed his support of Budapest Pride, saying, “This is the right decision. It demonstrates that, despite the suffocating political climate of the past decade and a half, the culture of freedom in Hungary has endured.”

Karácsony continued, “It shows that there are still people with the courage to stand firm. It shows that what is plainly true cannot be obscured by dishonest rhetoric.”

Event schedules for Budapest Pride are available online, with celebrations taking place all throughout the month of June. This all comes after Péter Magyar won against Orbán in the recent presidential election.