Brussels’ Flanders Day event gets new name to welcome everyone
The annual Flanders Day celebration in Brussels has been renamed ‘Vlaanderen Feest in Brussel’ (‘Flanders Celebrates in Brussels’). Organisers say the new name is meant to appeal not only to Flemish people, but to everyone living in the city.
The event will take place on 11 July, the public holiday of the Flemish Community, and this year marks its 14th edition in Brussels.
Flanders Day commemorates the Battle of the Golden Spurs in 1302, when Flemish forces defeated the French army near Kortrijk. Today, the holiday is less focused on history and politics and has become a large public festival, with concerts, neighbourhood events and family activities across Flanders and Brussels.
In Brussels, the celebrations have traditionally been held under the name ‘Vlaanderen Feest, Brussel Danst’ (‘Flanders Celebrates, Brussels Dances’). The new branding aims to make the event feel more open and inclusive in Belgium’s multilingual capital.
Brussels city centre will once again become a large open-air festival with concerts, performances and activities. On the Grand Place, Belgian singer Tourist LeMC will headline a music programme featuring local artists including Yannish, Ella Ray and the Floris Francis Arthur Band.
At Place de la Monnaie (Muntplein), visitors can enjoy circus acts, storytelling, podcasts, poetry and performances by young Brussels talent.
The Brussels Regional Parliament will also open its doors to visitors. There will be guided walks and cycling tours through the city, and for the first time, people can join a sightseeing trip by waterbus from the areas around Brussels.
According to Flemish Brussels minister Cieltje Van Achter, the event celebrates the close links between Flanders and Brussels and celebrates Dutch as a language that brings people together.
Thousands of people are expected to attend the free festivities on 11 July.
#FlandersNewsService | A person with a Flemish lion painted on his face © BELGA PHOTO DAVID STOCKMAN