Hungary LGBTQ Content Law Unenforceable At Top Photo Show: Museum

Hungary's National Museum said on Wednesday that it cannot enforce a government order barring minors from the World Press Photo exhibition under a controversial law targeting LGBTQ content.

The exhibition -- a showcase of the annual competition that rewards "the best visual journalism" around the world -- started in September and runs until November 5 at the National Museum in Budapest.

On Saturday, the ministry of culture and innovation ordered the museum to enforce a law against "promoting" homosexuality to those below the age of 18.

But the National Museum told AFP that it "cannot legally enforce" the government order as it cannot ask for identity cards.

"The Museum relies on the cooperation and compliance of visitors," its press department wrote in an emailed statement.

"There are notices on the site that under 18-year-olds are not allowed to buy tickets, and there is also an under 18 restriction sign at the entrance to the exhibition," it added.

On Wednesday, a public holiday in Hungary, an AFP journalist saw dozens of people lining up outside the museum for the exhibition, including a few families with children, unaware of the age restrictions.

"They let us in without any trouble," said Premek Beran, a 48-year-old Czech visitor, who bought the tickets from a machine, including for his four children aged between 10 and 15.

The far-right Our Homeland party had complained about the exhibition, taking issue with a series of pictures on a community of older LGBTQ people in the Philippines.

"Our Homeland stands for the value of the traditional family model," its vice president Dora Duro has said.

World Press Photo executive director Joumana El Zein Khoury said she was "surprised" to hear about the decision to restrict access to the exhibition.

"There is nothing explicit or offensive in these images," she said.

Most exhibition visitors who spoke to AFP on Wednesday said they disagreed with the government order.

"It is disappointing and ridiculous," said a 34-year-old who only gave her name as Alexandra, adding it would further harm Hungary's image in Europe.

"They should have just covered the pictures," Rudolf Sarlos, a 68-year-old pensioner, told AFP.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban's nationalist government passed the law against "promoting" homosexuality to minors in 2021, drawing criticism at home and abroad, including from Brussels.

The law has hardly been enforced.

But in July, a bookshop chain received a hefty fine for not covering up the British graphic novel "Heartstopper" about two boys falling in love in high school.