By Olivia Kemp, CNN
(CNN) 鈥 Beneath a blaze of rainbow flags and amid roars of defiance, big crowds gathered in the Hungarian capital, Budapest for the city鈥檚 30th annual Pride march 鈥 an event that, this year, is unfolding as both a celebration and a protest.
Moving through the capital in the sweltering heat, demonstrators carried signs reading 鈥淪olidarity with Budapest Pride鈥 and waved placards bearing crossed-out illustrations of Prime Minister Viktor Orb谩n.
Music played from portable speakers as people of all ages joined the march 鈥 families with pushchairs, teenagers draped in capes, and older residents walking alongside activists.
From the city鈥檚 historic centre to its riverside roads, the procession swelled in numbers and noise 鈥 visibly reclaiming public space in defiance of a law designed to push them out.
The march proceeded in open defiance of a police ban imposed earlier this year under sweeping new legislation that prohibits LGBTQ+ events nationwide.
Krisztina Aranyi, another marcher, told the news agency that 鈥渢he right to assembly is a basic human right, and I don鈥檛 think it should be banned.鈥
She added, 鈥淛ust because someone does not like the reason why you go to the street, or they do not agree with it, you still have the right to do so.鈥
Huge crowds turned out in the city for the parade, with many holding homemade banners aloft. One sign read 鈥淭ransgender people are a blessing on this earth鈥 while another banner read 鈥淧roud. United. Equal in every corner of the EU.鈥
At least 70 members of the European Parliament were expected to join the procession, officials told CNN in May.
Van Sparrentak, who is a Dutch MEP from the parliament鈥檚 鈥淕reens/European Free Alliance鈥 political group, told CNN that she will be attending Budapest Pride to 鈥渟upport the LGBTIQ+ community in Hungary, to let them know that they are not alone (and) to be visible as a community.鈥
In March, Hungarian lawmakers passed legislation barring Pride events and permitting the use of facial recognition technology to identify participants 鈥 measures campaigners say is illegal and part of a wider crackdown on the LGBTQ+ community.
Orban welcomed the ban, which he said would outlaw gatherings that 鈥渧iolate child protection laws.鈥 His government has pushed a strongly Christian and conservative agenda.
The ban sparked lively protests in Budapest in March, with organizers of the city鈥檚 Pride vowing to continue with the annual festival despite the new law and declaring: 鈥淲e will fight this new fascist ban.鈥
A petition demanding police reject the ban has gathered over 120,000 signatures from supporters in 73 countries, urging authorities to 鈥渞eject this unjust law鈥 鈥 believed to be the first of its kind in the EU鈥檚 recent history 鈥 and ensure that the march proceeded 鈥渦nhindered and peacefully, free from discrimination, harassment, fear or violence.鈥
CNN鈥檚 Catherine Nicholls and Billy Stockwell contributed to this report.
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