Organizers of a pride march in Oradea, Romania, plan to proceed with the event scheduled for July 25 despite being denied permission by local authorities for the fourth consecutive year. Since 2023, campaigners have sought to hold pride events annually in the city, which has a population of approximately 180,000, but local officials have repeatedly blocked the celebrations citing legal or technical reasons.

Iulian Ditiu, co-founder and president of Ark Oradea, the group organizing the march, said that authorities have consistently refused requests by presenting various logistical obstacles. In 2024, the city claimed no parks were available at the requested times. Last year, 12 proposed routes were rejected as unsuitable. This year, the organizers submitted more than 100 potential routes, all of which the city rejected due to clashes with other events or public infrastructure projects. The mayor, affiliated with a party identifying as liberal, conservative, and Christian democratic, did not respond to requests for comment.

Ditiu criticized the refusals as conveying an implicit message that the LGBT community is unwelcome in Oradea. "They have never said out loud that they are banning pride for LGBT reasons. They’re always hiding behind technical reasons," he said. He described the situation as part of a broader democratic concern over restrictions on the right to peaceful assembly.

The repeated bans have drawn international attention, with over 150 organizations from 30 countries signing a statement urging city officials to permit the march safely and in compliance with European Union law. The statement emphasized that after four years of denials, administrative or logistical difficulties could no longer justify the bans. It warned that consistent prevention of peaceful assembly undermines fundamental democratic principles. The appeal compared the situation to Hungary, where former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his government have attempted to curtail pride events, characterizing such restrictions as indicators of democratic backsliding.

Despite lacking official approval, organizers intend to go ahead with the march. In 2025, about 500 to 600 people participated in an unauthorized event in Oradea, with nine attendees subsequently fined the equivalent of roughly £3,400. This year, the march is expected to include representatives from several diplomatic missions as well as Romania’s ombudsman.

Ditiu acknowledged the support as a positive development but expressed frustration at what he described as institutional scapegoating of the LGBT community. "The institutions that are supposed to protect the rights of every community are trying to use our community as a scapegoat. But many more people are behind us. Many more people understand what the stakes are," he said. He framed the issue as one of democratic rights rather than solely an LGBT matter, asserting, "It’s about the freedom to public assembly. And if the local LGBT community here in Oradea can be denied this basic human right without any repercussion, it can happen pretty much anywhere in Europe, for pretty much any community."