The western Romanian city of Oradea is only major town in the European Union where local authorities have repeatedly blocked Pride
Campaigners in a Romanian city have vowed to go ahead with plans for a Pride march this weekend despite a ban from local authorities for the fourth year running.
Their refusal to back down sets the stage for a showdown between the organizers and Mayor Florin Birta who on Thursday said he was banning the march for violating “norms of social conduct and good morals.”
Pro-rights groups, ARK ORADEA andi ACCEPT, called the decision “discriminatory” and said the march would go ahead anyway on Saturday afternoon in front of the Oradea city hall.
Every year starting in 2023, campaigners in Oradea have sought authorization for Pride events. However, there has been pushback, making the city of 180,000 the only major place in the EU where Pride supporters are unable to stage a march.
“Every year the local authorities have managed to find legal or technical excuses to ban Oradea Pride events,” said Iulian Ditiu, the co-founder and president of ARK Oradea, the Pride organizers of Pride.
Two years ago they were told that none of the city’s parks were available at the times requested, he said. In 2025, campaigners provided local authorities with 12 potential routes for the march, only to be told that none of the routes were possible.
Before this year’s proposed march, organizers submitted more than 100 routes, but on Wednesday the city said that none of the routes would be possible as they clashed with other events or with infrastructure works.
“It feels like the message that they are trying to send our way is that we’re not welcome here,” he told the Guardian.
“They have never said out loud that they are banning Pride for LGBT reasons. They’re always hiding behind technical reasons.”
Responding to the ban, 152 organizations 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.
Ahead of the march, some diplomatic representatives have already said they will participate, as well as the Romanian ombudsman, press reports said.
Although it has lessened in recent years, discrimination and intolerance persists in Romania against same-sex couples, 25 years after homosexuality was fully decriminalized under pressure from the Council of Europe. Romania has no legal recognition for same-sex couples, and there are obstacles in legal gender recognition.
European Greens, others call on Romanian authorities to allow Oradea Pride to go ahead
