Brussels Flower Carpet celebrates 50th anniversary with historic design

From 12 to 15 August, the 50th anniversary of the Brussels Flower Carpet will be celebrated on the Grand Place, the central square of the Belgian capital's historic centre. The colourful design on display this year is a reinterpretation of the very first design from 1971. Despite the heat, the flowers should stay fresh enough and survive until Monday.

Since 7 a.m. on Friday morning, there has been a great deal of activity on the Grand Place / Grote Markt. About a hundred volunteers, including a team of 50 foreign volunteers from Spain, Germany, Mexico and even Japan, have been laying down flower by flower in the colourful display. The Flower Carpet was to be completed around noon, and visitors will be able to enjoy its splendour until Monday evening.

"These are not ideal conditions, and the critical threshold for flowers is 30 degrees. We are working with natural products and that is a risk."

The design of this 22nd Flower Carpet is a reinterpretation of the very first design made in 1971 by Etienne Stautemas. The theme of the carpet that year was "Arabesques", characterised by its graceful shapes. Mexican artist Roo Aguilar Aguado and Belgian Koen Vondenbusch, a student of Stautemas, have now given the design a contemporary makeover.

The heat undeniably plays a role this year. "These are not ideal conditions, and the critical threshold for flowers is 30 degrees. We are working with natural products and that is a risk", says Karel Goethals of the organisation vzw Bloementapijt.

The flowers were picked as late as possible and laid out as fresh as possible, in order to preserve their bright colours until Monday. The flowers will not be sprayed with water, because that would cause them to rot. Besides bark and a lot of begonias, mainly dahlias are used, as they withstand the heat better.

(BRV)

© BELGA PHOTO NICOLAS MAETERLINCK

© BELGA VIDEO JEROME FETU