More than 700 people took to the streets of Oradea, Romania on 25 July, defying a ban that local authorities have now renewed for the fourth consecutive year. With Budapest Pride authorised again in 2026 following Hungary's change of government, Oradea now stands out as a major EU city where local authorities continue to block a Pride march.

A ban dressed up as administration

The organiser, ARK Oradea, submitted notification for this year's march within the legal deadline — identifying more than 100 possible routes to pre-empt the objections used in previous years. The city's response was the same as before: every route was rejected, and the authorities offered only a static gathering or a march away from the city centre.

ARK Oradea's co-founder Iulian Dițiu has consistently pushed back on the framing of these refusals as procedural. As Dițiu put it: they have never said out loud that they are banning Pride for LGBTQ+ reasons — they always hide behind technical ones.

Together we wrote history and demonstrated that Oradea belongs to everyone. Despite obstacles, we choose to be visible, united and courageous.

— ARK Oradea

The march went ahead anyway — and so did the fines

The march proceeded as an unauthorised protest, under the motto "Oradea is for everyone." Attendees included representatives from at least eight European embassies and members of the International LGBTQ+ Youth and Student Organisation (IGLYO). Authorities arrived to issue fines to participants. ARK Oradea responded by announcing it would coordinate legal support — alongside ACCEPT Romania — for anyone who received one.

The European Parliament's Vice President, Nicu Ștefănuță, was among those who condemned the response, calling what was happening in Oradea shameful for the Romanian state and telling the authorities that the young people marching were "not 'some LGBT'" but "exactly your children, the future of this state."

More than 120 organisations had already called for change

In the weeks before the march, more than 120 civil society organisations from 30 countries signed an open letter urging Romanian authorities to allow the event. The mayor of Oradea, Florin Birta, belongs to Romania's National Liberal Party — a member of the European People's Party group in Brussels. Organisations including Forbidden Colours called directly on EPP leadership to make clear that its members cannot systematically obstruct Pride marches while presenting themselves as defenders of European values.

Sources: GCN, Romania Insider, PinkNews, Forbidden Colours