{
    "title": "Ghent puts finishing touches to Florali\u00ebn 2026 ahead of royal opening",
    "modified_at": "2026-04-29 15:15:09",
    "published_at": "2026-04-29 15:15:00",
    "url": "https://www.belganewsagency.eu/ghent-puts-finishing-touches-to-floralien-2026-ahead-of-royal-opening",
    "short_url": "http://prez.ly/6XDd",
    "culture": "en_BE",
    "language": "EN",
    "slug": "ghent-puts-finishing-touches-to-floralien-2026-ahead-of-royal-opening",
    "body": "<p><strong>Hundreds of florists, decorators, ornamental plant growers and horticultural professionals are putting the finishing touches to Florali&euml;n Ghent on Wednesday. The 10 day event features impressive works of art, temporary garden landscapes and immersive sensory trails made from arranging flowers, plants and decorative elements.</strong></p><p>Frantic preparations are underway in Ghent for the 2026 edition of its Florali&euml;n exhibition. Across the city, decorative gardens, floral sculptures, hanging structures and large artistic installations are taking shape in halls, corridors and exhibition spaces, all designed to form a single cohesive experience. </p><p>The flower exhibition, held every four years, opens Thursday morning with a visit from King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium, with the first public visitors expected in the afternoon. The event officially runs from 1 to 10 May and organisers expect around 65,000 visitors for this edition.</p><p>Florali&euml;n Ghent<strong> </strong>features 240 participants from Belgium and abroad. Alongside Flemish and Walloon florists, international floral artists and design teams from countries including the United States, Romania, the Netherlands and Japan are contributing.</p><div id=\"bookmark-0b752886-3fef-4e79-964a-b05f2ad9a0d0\"\n     class=\"release-content-bookmark release-content-bookmark--horizontal\">\n\n            <a class=\"release-content-bookmark__thumbnail\"\n           href=\"https://www.belganewsagency.eu/queen-mathilde-to-receive-her-own-ghent-azalea-at-floralien\"\n           rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\n           target=\"_blank\"           style=\"background-image: url(https://prezly.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.uc.assets.prezly.com%2F5157e387-d923-4d5b-97c3-a509827e0a90%2F-%2Fpreview%2F600x600%2F?ar=1%3A1&amp;fit=crop&amp;s=3bab098e91ad2b0a0a11dcbd5c627812)\"\n        ></a>\n    \n    <div class=\"release-content-bookmark__details\">\n\n                    <a class=\"release-content-bookmark__title\"\n               href=\"https://www.belganewsagency.eu/queen-mathilde-to-receive-her-own-ghent-azalea-at-floralien\"\n               rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\n               target=\"_blank\"               data-type=\"bookmark\"\n               data-track=\"Story WebBookmark Click\"\n               data-placement=\"content\"\n               data-id=\"0b752886-3fef-4e79-964a-b05f2ad9a0d0\"\n           >\n                Queen Mathilde to receive her own Ghent azalea at Florali\u00ebn            </a>\n        \n                    <div class=\"release-content-bookmark__description\">\n                Queen Mathilde will receive her own Ghent azalea at the Ghent Florali\u00ebn 2026. On Thursday, the monarch will officially lend her name to a new...            </div>\n        \n        <a href=\"https://www.belganewsagency.eu/\"\n           target=\"_blank\"\n           rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"\n           class=\"release-content-bookmark__provider\"\n        >\n            <img class=\"release-content-bookmark__provider-icon\" src=\"https://avatars.prezly.com/favicon?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.belganewsagency.eu%2Fqueen-mathilde-to-receive-her-own-ghent-azalea-at-floralien&newsroom=6b71e247-a9ba-4732-aaa3-88be14c119db\" aria-hidden=\"true\" />\n            belganewsagency.eu        </a>\n    </div>\n</div>\n<h4 id=\"a-half-billion-euro-industry-on-display\" >A half-billion-euro industry on display</h4><p>What makes Florali&euml;n distinctive, according to the organisers, is that dozens of individual creations converge into one large visitor route. This year&#039;s central theme is connection. The Florali&euml;n hall features a giant heart made of moss balls, a participatory artwork on which Ghent-based associations have been collaborating for months, symbolising the heart of both the sector and the wider public.</p><p>Behind the floral spectacle lies a robust economic engine. The Flemish floriculture sector generates an annual production value of approximately 503 million euros and comprises 927 companies, 684 of which are specialist floriculture businesses. East Flanders alone is home to around 45 per cent of these companies, and in some segments, 80 to 90 per cent of production is destined for export markets.</p><div id=\"video-9e318cca-7e38-4b55-857f-0e17b16073fe\" class=\"release-content-video release-content-video--embed release-content-video--contained\">\n    <div><div style=\"left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;\"><iframe data-iframely-url=\"https://cdn.iframe.ly/api/iframe?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.uc.assets.prezly.com%2Fa9909d6d-b733-41e8-948d-635f41c796f5%2FBelgaimage-172352319.mp4%23_cb1777471361&key=8fe6cdec03482ac31f27a6ae8ea2fb3f\" style=\"top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;\" allowfullscreen allow=\"encrypted-media *;\"></iframe></div></div><script async src=\"https://cdn.iframe.ly/embed.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n</div><p><sup>#FlandersNewsService | &copy; BELGA PHOTO / VIDEO JONAS D&#039;HOLLANDER</sup></p><hr /><p><strong>Related news</strong></p><div id=\"bookmark-718f83e7-b4f9-442e-8314-b21837b292bc\"\n     class=\"release-content-bookmark release-content-bookmark--horizontal\">\n\n            <a class=\"release-content-bookmark__thumbnail\"\n           href=\"https://www.belganewsagency.eu/kmska-combines-floral-art-with-museum-collection\"\n           rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\n           target=\"_blank\"           style=\"background-image: url(https://prezly.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.uc.assets.prezly.com%2F1fea5b35-3470-4823-8be8-4b51c93b9a4e%2F-%2Fpreview%2F600x600%2F?ar=1%3A1&amp;fit=crop&amp;s=d0aa1c8e86d5c7b6a6adea666c90d343)\"\n        ></a>\n    \n    <div class=\"release-content-bookmark__details\">\n\n                    <a class=\"release-content-bookmark__title\"\n               href=\"https://www.belganewsagency.eu/kmska-combines-floral-art-with-museum-collection\"\n               rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\n               target=\"_blank\"               data-type=\"bookmark\"\n               data-track=\"Story WebBookmark Click\"\n               data-placement=\"content\"\n               data-id=\"718f83e7-b4f9-442e-8314-b21837b292bc\"\n           >\n                KMSKA combines floral art with museum collection            </a>\n        \n                    <div class=\"release-content-bookmark__description\">\n                A new exhibition at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp features a dialogue between contemporary floral art and works from the museum\u2019s...            </div>\n        \n        <a href=\"https://www.belganewsagency.eu/\"\n           target=\"_blank\"\n           rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"\n           class=\"release-content-bookmark__provider\"\n        >\n            <img class=\"release-content-bookmark__provider-icon\" src=\"https://avatars.prezly.com/favicon?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.belganewsagency.eu%2Fkmska-combines-floral-art-with-museum-collection&newsroom=6b71e247-a9ba-4732-aaa3-88be14c119db\" aria-hidden=\"true\" />\n            belganewsagency.eu        </a>\n    </div>\n</div>\n",
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            "embed": "<div><div style=\"left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;\"><iframe data-iframely-url=\"https://cdn.iframe.ly/api/iframe?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.uc.assets.prezly.com%2Fa9909d6d-b733-41e8-948d-635f41c796f5%2FBelgaimage-172352319.mp4%23_cb1777471361&key=8fe6cdec03482ac31f27a6ae8ea2fb3f\" style=\"top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;\" allowfullscreen allow=\"encrypted-media *;\"></iframe></div></div><script async src=\"https://cdn.iframe.ly/embed.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>"
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    "links": [
        {
            "description": "Queen Mathilde to receive her own Ghent azalea at Florali\u00ebn",
            "url": "https://www.belganewsagency.eu/queen-mathilde-to-receive-her-own-ghent-azalea-at-floralien"
        },
        {
            "description": "KMSKA combines floral art with museum collection",
            "url": "https://www.belganewsagency.eu/kmska-combines-floral-art-with-museum-collection"
        }
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