25,000 people attend Procession of the Holy Blood in Bruges
The Procession of the Holy Blood attracted an estimated 25,000 spectators in Bruges on Thursday afternoon. The event has been held since 1304 and is listed as Unesco World Heritage.
The procession originated as an expression of gratitude and faith, with the commemoration of the suffering of Christ as its central theme. Spectators were shown how the relic of the Holy Blood is said to have been brought by Diederik of Alsace and eventually ended up in Bruges. Members of the Noble Confraternity of the Holy Blood escorted the shrine in which the relic is kept.
Due to uncertain weather, the city was less crowded than it was for last year's event, when over 40,000 visitors were recorded.
The procession involved more than 500 staff working behind the scenes and around 2,000 participants, who sang, danced, acted and played music. The style of the procession is reminiscent of the Burgundian era, when guilds, craft trades, brotherhoods and chambers of rhetoric were responsible for staging the scenes.
“The weather turned out to be not too bad in the end, but it did, of course, have an impact on the turnout,” said coordinator Matthieu Clarysse. “Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the procession, which went very well.”
#FlandersNewsService | The Procession of the Holy Blood in Bruges, 14 May 2026 © BELGA PHOTO KURT DESPLENTER
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