It’s a little known fact that a Hungarian actually invented the word, homosexual, way back in the nineteenth century. The first Budapest Pride took place 14 years ago, beginning life as a picnic in the Buda hills. Over the years, it’s expanded into the week-long event that it is today, incorporating film, workshops, music, the Pride March and some huge parties. It’s also, unfortunately, notorious for including the Pride March with the largest amount of security measures surrounding it in Europe, as a result of the vehement anti-Pride protests that have taken place in recent years.
I headed over to the headquarters of the Rainbow Mission Foundation (the organization behind the event) to chat to its chairman, Sándor Steigler, to find out more about the festival, what it means to him and the various challenges it faces here in Hungary.
How did you become involved in Budapest Pride, and what does it mean to you?
The first Pride March I attended was twelve years ago. I’d been with my partner for a long time, but I hadn’t come out. On the Friday before Pride, my partner’s father died, and I felt that I couldn’t be fully there for him with my whole self, surrounded by so many lies. So, I decided, on the day of Pride, to come out to help him. The event helped us both a lot, and I’ve been every year since. I started working with the Rainbow Mission Foundation two years ago, as a board member and designer of the website… I’m now its chairman.
What can people expect from the festival’s opening ceremony, on August 30th?
Things will kick-off at 6 p.m., at the Művész Cinema. It’ll be headed by the main speaker, Ádám Nádasdy, an openly gay lecturer and writer from ELTE University. The ambassador of the USA will be speaking, too. The British and Dutch ambassadors are both unavailable on the day, though they support the festival, and instead, the second secretary of the Netherlands Embassy will be there. I’ll also be speaking. Gypsy singers will be performing on the night – the gypsy community is one we work to show our solidarity with – and we’ll be screening the festival’s opening film, The Stone Wall, about the Stonewall riots in New York in 1969. It’s the 40th anniversary of the riots, and while we’re marching we’ll be remembering what happened in ‘69 – it was the first step, or the beginning, of the gay rights movement.
Where will the Rainbow Party be held after the Pride March on September 6th?
It’ll be at Corvintető from 11 p.m., both indoors and outside on the roof terrace. We really thought carefully about the venue, along with the police, this time. Last year’s location, Buddha Beach, was difficult for the police to protect. There was a park nearby and the open space posed difficulties for them; unfortunately a few people were targeted on their way home. We expect fewer problems this year, though.
Can you describe the route of the march, for people who’d like to take part, and how it will differ from last year?
We’ll be starting on Andrássy út, gathering near Heroes’ Square (not on it). We’ve chosen the corner of Andrássy and Rippl-Rónai utca, as it’s easier for the police to protect. We’ll finish at Erzsébet tér at around 4 p.m. or 4:30 p.m., depending on how fast we walk! The foundation will have a truck with music including, everything from Gloria Gaynor to Lily Allen; you know, disco music! Something that’ll be different this year will be the amount of organized groups of foreign participants. There’ll be a big group coming in from Austria, as well as Germany, Poland and Italy. We’re expecting around 2,000 people to take part in total – which will be more than last year.
What message would you say to heterosexual people who’d like to participate in the march and the festival as a whole?
That they’re absolutely more than welcome! The festival’s a great chance for people to get to know and understand the gay community better, and people from outside of it are extremely welcome. In fact, I think more straight people were at the march than gay people last year! I’d also like to say that people shouldn’t be afraid. The police have been and will continue to be great – they’ll be providing a lot of protection for us.
How cooperative have the police been?
They’ve been really cooperative – they really want to help, and have been very open. After the trouble of the last few years, they’ve prepared themselves much more.
Why do you think there’s more trouble surrounding Pride in Budapest than in other cities?
I think it’s because people here couldn’t say what they wanted to say, or think what they wanted to think for so long, under socialism. After 1990, we’ve been able to say and think whatever we like, and in a lot of ways that’s a very dangerous thing – it’s led to things like Jobbik being voted into the European Parliament [Jobbik are an extreme right wing party that, since May of this year, have had three representatives in the European Parliament]. The people protesting against the march think they have the right to do anything, because Jobbik are in the position they are.
What’s the aim of Pride, and how do you think it’s helped change things here?
I think the march helped bring about the legalization of homosexual civil partnerships here [the law was passed on July 1st this year]. It shows the country that we’re here, that gay people exist in Hungary – and a lot of us, at that – and that this huge chunk of the population doesn’t have the same rights as everyone else. The festival makes us more visible and gets people talking about the LGBT community. I also think it helps that community develop. Many people think the festival’s just the march, which it’s not. The films and workshops can all help people come to understand and get to know us better, which is important.
What does the recent legalization of civil partnership mean to you?
When I read the first version of the law, I cried. It was a very good feeling, to feel you were equal to the other citizens of Hungary. When parliament discussed the law, though, some parts were cancelled, which changed it for me in some ways. The part that allowed you to take on your partner’s name was cancelled. I think that shows you’re together more than a piece of paper, though. I think the law’s a big step towards equality, but it’s not equality. It’s a law that says all people aren’t equal.
What would you say to those people who say, “I’m not homophobic, I don’t mind what they do in their own homes, but I don’t see why they need to parade it on the streets”?
Well, firstly, I’d say that homosexuality isn’t only about sex. It’s about the love of two people, just like a heterosexual relationship. I know people say, “we don’t do a heterosexual march, so why do a gay one?”, but to that kind of comment I’d say that they can live their lives as they want to, here – they can hold hands on the street or put photos of their family and partners on their desks at work, but we can’t here. So, I think the march is not only about gay rights, it’s about human rights. We want to say come and respect us, come and understand us. If people want to say that they don’t like gay people, OK, I believe in freedom of speech; but if people then start to harass me, telling me the way I live my life is wrong, that’s not OK.
And how far do you think attitudes towards homosexuality still have to go in Hungary?
Unfortunately, I think they still have a long way to go, and I think it will take a long time. People’s minds need to change. I don’t think it’s just about attitudes towards gay and lesbian people, though – Hungarian people seem, to me, to find it difficult to accept anything different to themselves.
Budapest Pride will take place between August 30th and September 6th. All films will be shown in their original language with Hungarian subtitles (English, French, German, Spanish and Hebrew films will feature) and workshops will be mainly in Hungarian (though not solely). Festival schedule information is available in English at www.budapestpride.hu.
Amy Weston
Budapest Pride
August 30 – September 6
Opening ceremony
Date: September 30th, 8:30 p.m.
Film Screenings
Dates: August 30 – September 6 (various times)
Művész Cinema
1066 Budapest, Teréz körút 30.
www.artmozi.hu
Workshops
Dates: August 30 – September 6 (various times)
Club Underground
1066 Budapest, Teréz körút 30.
www.clubunderground.hu
Rainbow Party
Date: September 6th, from 11 p.m.
Corvintető, Corvin Áruház 4th floor
1085 Budapest, Blaha Lujza tér 1-2.
www.corvinteto.com
www.budapestpride.hu
www.pride.hu