STORY: Tens of thousands of Romanians joined an LGBTQ Pride march in Bucharest on Saturday (June 7), demanding civil union partnership legislation and equal rights after a highly-contested presidential election last month buoyed the far right.

Socially conservative Romania decriminalised homosexuality in 2001, decades later than other parts of the European Union, but still bars marriage and civil partnerships for same-sex couples.

In Bucharest, marchers danced and carried the rainbow flag 20 years after the first Pride parade was held, carrying banners such as "Love is the worst feeling you could hate", "Equality in love, equality in inheritance. Civil partnership for all".

Roughly 30,000 people attended the parade, according to an estimate by the organiser, Romanian LGBTQ rights organisation ACCEPT.

The march comes at a fraught moment in Central and Eastern Europe, where far right parties have gained ground. Poles held a similar parade on Saturday.

Hours before the Romanian march, a smaller anti-Pride protest took place, with participants demanding an Orthodox Christian nation and waving flags carrying the Celtic cross, a known far-right symbol.

In Romania, centrist Bucharest mayor Nicusor Dan ultimately won the presidential election against hard-right opposition leader George Simion, a strong opponent of LGBTQ rights.

ACCEPT and LGBTQ rights group Mozaiq warned of a rise in hate speech against the community during the election campaign, and their headquarters were defaced.

In neighbouring Hungary, parliament passed legislation earlier this year that de facto bans holding Pride marches.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

SHOWS: BUCHAREST, ROMANIA (JUNE 7, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all)

1. GIANT RAINBOW FLAG SEEN FROM BELOW

2. VARIOUS OF PRIDE MARCH IN STREET

3. BANNER READING (English): "CIS SISTERS FOR TRANS SISTERS - WE ARE NOT FREE UNLESS WE ARE ALL FREE"

4. VARIOUS OF CROWD CARRYING GIANT RAINBOW FLAG

5. SIGNS READING (Romanian): "LOVE IS THE WORST FEELING YOU COULD HATE", "EQUALITY IN LOVE, EQUALITY IN INHERITANCE. CIVIL PARTNERSHIP FOR ALL", "WE ARE UNITED UNDER THE COLOURS OF THE RAINBOW IN THE FIGHT FOR EQUALITY"

6. RAINBOW BANNER WITH TEXT READING (English): "VEGAN FOR ALL BEINGS"

7. (SOUNDBITE) (Romanian) CO-PRESIDENT AT ACCEPT ASSOCIATION, TEODORA ION-ROTARU, SAYING:

"People are no longer afraid to be visible, they are much more confident to come together. Society has changed and, unfortunately, that may not be true for all of Romania, but certainly in Bucharest, the atmosphere is completely different, and this celebration and protest has become a city-wide event, not just one for the community. Of course, we still have very strong demands related to the recognition of families within the community, legal gender recognition with dignity, protection against hate crimes and the current polarizing debate, which is also fueled by the elections, and the rise of far-right rhetoric. It's not exactly an easy emotional climate, but, as you can see, people are brave and they are in the streets demanding their rights."

8. PEOPLE MARCHING WITH RAINBOW FLAG

9. SIGN READING (Romanian): "MOM SAID IT'S OKAY"

10. CROWD CELEBRATING

11. TWO MARCHERS IN CROWD

12. CROWD

13. (SOUNDBITE) (Romanian) PRIDE PARTICIPANT, IESAN ELENA, AGED 22, SAYING:

"I came here, first of all, to feel free to express myself for one day without being attacked on the street and to claim my rights. That's the purpose and the reason."

14. (SOUNDBITE) (Romanian) PRIDE PARTICIPANT, RAY (LAST NAME NOT GIVEN), AGED 29, SAYING:

"I came to celebrate Pride because it's a protest, first and foremost, for our rights, because we also deserve the same rights as any other person, and to celebrate love."

15. PRIDE MARCH WALKING PAST ORTHODOX NATIONALIST PROTESTERS, POLICE SEPARATING GROUPS

16. COUNTER PROTESTERS MARCHING AND CHANTING: "Romania! Orthodox country!"

17. BANNER READING (Romanian): "OUR ANCESTORS SACRIFICED THEMSELVES FOR GREATER ROMANIA, NOT FOR HOMOSEXUAL MARRIAGES"

18. MARCH

19. GIRL WALKING UNDER ROMANIAN FLAG

20. (SOUNDBITE) (Romanian) COUNTER PROTESTER, DUMITRU (LAST NAME NOT GIVEN), AGED 36, SAYING:

"We don't agree with abnormality, we don't tolerate it. We accept their reckless actions in private spaces, but not in public. We don't agree with the introduction of sexual education in schools, nor with the legalization of civil partnerships and their transformation into same-sex marriages. So, we do not agree. We support the idea of increasing birth rates through proactive measures. From a man and a man, nothing can come – no procreation. From a man and a woman, something does. And what comes is the essence of the divine act – a child, a family that can ensure the continuation of this Christian nation with 90% authentic traditional values. That's why we came here."

21. CROWD MARCHING WITH BANNERS READING (Romanian): "STOP - HOMOSEXUAL PARTNERSHIPS, MARRIAGES, AND ADOPTIONS", "MARRIAGE IS THE FREELY CONSENTED UNION BETWEEN A MAN AND A WOMAN, CONCLUDED UNDER THE LAW"

22. BANNERS READING (Romanian): "NO TO SEXUAL INDOCTRINATION IN SCHOOLS", "DECENCY, NOT DECADENCE", "OUR ANCESTORS SACRIFICED THEMSELVES FOR GREATER ROMANIA, NOT FOR HOMOSEXUAL MARRIAGES"

23. PROTESTER HOLDING RELIGIOUS ICON

24. (SOUNDBITE) (Romanian) COUNTER PROTESTER, MARTIS OCTAVIAN, AGED 47, SAYING:

"We support the Christian family. We don't hate anyone, but certain laws and legislative proposals are not acceptable to us. We want to protest peacefully and express our point of view – that we do not accept them, not in Romania. Maybe they fit the culture of other countries, but they do not fit ours."

25. VARIOUS OF ANTI-PRIDE MARCH