Thousands marched through downtown Warsaw at the city's annual Pride celebration today, kicking off outside the Palace of Culture and Science, which was lit up in rainbow lights after sundown.

The Equality Parade, as it's known, has had a rocky history—cancelations by the mayor, violence from right-wing protestors—but organizers hoped this year would be the biggest one yet. (Right-wing nationalists gathered nearby but no attacks were reported, thanks to a heavy police presence.)

“The truth is that we do not really have any legal rights to protect,” parade organizer Jej Perfekcyjność told Deutsche Welle.

“We expect a record crowd because many people have joined demonstrations against this government in the past few months. We need a big crowd to make sure things do not get worse.”

It's unclear how many attended the parade—estimates vary from less than 10,000 to upwards of 30,000. Visibility is increasing in Poland, but the predominantly Catholic nation still has one of the lowest rates of LGBT acceptance in Europe.

The nationalist Law & Justice party won the parliamentary elections last fall and have been accused of controlling the courts and rolling back civil liberties.

Ahead the march, dozens of prominent LGBT Poles—including Slupsk mayor Robert Biedron and Anna Grodzka, the first trans person in the Polish parliament—released a statement calling on their closeted countrymen to come out:

"Rights cannot be given to those who hide their faces. We ask you: Come out!"