An LGBTQ+ Pride march in Romania went ahead despite it being banned for the fourth consecutive year. The march took place in Oradea, a city in western Romania with a population of around 180,000 people.
The city hall rejected all proposed routes and explicitly cited alleged violations of social conduct and morality norms, making Oradea a rare case within the EU for repeatedly blocking Pride.
Despite the official ban, over a thousand of activists and supporters went ahead and held a peaceful demonstration in front of the city hall. Besides, more than 152 organisations from 30 countries have signed a statement calling on officials to allow the march to take place in complete safety and in line with EU law.
In 2025, six hundred people attended an unauthorised march in the same city, with nine participants later fined. This time representatives from several diplomatic missions took part, along with Romania’s ombudsman.
Over 30,000 people joined Pride march in Bucharest, demanding civil union partnership legislation and equal rights after presidential election buoyed the far right in Romania.
This is not an LGBTQ+ issue. This is a democratic issue. It’s about the freedom to public assembly. And if a local LGBTQ+ community in Romania can be denied this basic human right without any repercussion, it can happen pretty much anywhere in Europe, for pretty much any community.
Happy Pride!!!
of over 35,000 participants to Romania's capital
