Romanian Pride march to go ahead despite fourth consecutive ban
“Every year the local authorities have managed to find legal or technical excuses to ban Oradea Pride events,” said Iulian Dițiu, co-founder and president of Ark Oradea
By Callum Wells
LGBTQ+ activists in Romania say they will defy local authorities and stage a Pride march this weekend after officials refused permission for the event for a fourth consecutive year.
Organisers in Oradea, a city of around 180,000 people in western Romania, confirmed the march will go ahead tomorrow (24 July) despite the municipality rejecting every proposed route.
Campaigners argue the repeated refusals amount to an effective ban on Pride, making Oradea the only major city in the European Union where local authorities have blocked the event year after year.
“Every year the local authorities have managed to find legal or technical excuses to ban Oradea Pride events,” Iulian Dițiu, co-founder and president of Ark Oradea
The latest decision came after Ark Oradea, the organisation behind the event, submitted more than 100 potential routes through the city. Officials ruled out every option, saying they would interfere with other public events or ongoing infrastructure works. Organisers say the same pattern has repeated since 2023, with different administrative reasons given each year for refusing permission.
“Every year the local authorities have managed to find legal or technical excuses to ban Oradea Pride events,” Iulian Dițiu, co-founder and president of Ark Oradea, told the Guardian.
Last year, authorities said none of the city’s parks were available for the event. In 2025, organisers proposed 12 alternative routes, all of which were rejected. This year, they expanded the list to more than 100.
The dispute has prompted intervention from rights groups across Europe. More than 125 organisations from 30 countries have signed a joint statement urging Oradea’s mayor and Romanian authorities to allow the march to take place, arguing that repeated restrictions on peaceful assembly undermine fundamental democratic freedoms.
The Council of Europe’s Congress of Local and Regional Authorities has also called on local officials to ensure the event can proceed safely.
“It feels like the message that they are trying to send our way is that we’re not welcome here,” Dițiu
“After four consecutive years in which the Pride march has been unable to take place, there can be no question of administrative or logistical difficulties,” the statement said. “When an authority consistently prevents a community from assembling peacefully, a principle that concerns all citizens is undermined.”
Supporters have compared the situation in Oradea with recent attempts to restrict Pride events in Hungary, arguing that limiting LGBTQ+ demonstrations has become part of a wider pattern of democratic backsliding in parts of Europe.
Around 500 to 600 people attended an unauthorised Pride in Oradea last year, after which nine participants were fined a combined total of around €4,000 (£3,420), according to Dițiu. Representatives from several diplomatic missions and Romania’s ombudsman are expected to attend this year’s event.
“It feels like the message that they are trying to send our way is that we’re not welcome here,” Dițiu said. “They have never said out loud that they are banning Pride for LGBT reasons. They’re always hiding behind technical reasons.”