Brussels Festivals

Ommegang of Brussels (French: Ommegang de Bruxelles, Dutch: Ommegang van Brussel) holds a significant position in Belgium's historical and cultural events and is held in honour of Charles V and his son Philip. It is a traditional Ommegang celebrated since 1549. The procession starts from the Sablon/Zavel district and ends at the Grand Place/Grote. The participants wear costumes along with horses, crossbows, antique weapons, carts, and giants. Since 2019, UNESCO has recognised the Ommegang as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

Since the millennium year 2000, when the Zinneke Parade started, it has become the craziest festival in Brussels. Held in May every year, it's a cultural event organised by Zinneke Association where over 1500 participants take part in a parade. Participants from schools, cultural centres, and institutions come together and share their ideas to celebrate the event. Everyone dons multi-coloured costumes depending on the theme of the event.

BIFFF is for those moviegoers who love creepy, horror, science fiction and thriller films. If you are not fainthearted and love seeing morbid faces, visiting this festival will give you a once in a lifetime chance to view the year's best and scariest horror films. Several screenings and films are shown around all the cinema theatres in Brussels every year in March, along with competitions and theatrical events.

Flower Carpet (French: Tapis de Fleurs, Dutch: Bloementapijt) is a biennial event in Brussels where volunteers from around Belgium come together at the Grand Place and indulge in weaving beautiful carpets made out of assorted colourful flowers. Since 1971, the event has been organised in August along with Assumption Day. Millions of flowers are used to create a beautiful flower carpet of 1,800sq.m. (19,000sq.ft.).

Europe Day is held on 9 May (by European Union) to celebrate peace and unity in Europe. To celebrate the day, institutions in the European Union are open to the public in the early days of May in Brussels and Strasbourg. The Native EU offices in Europe and other parts of the world arrange several activities and events. Many people attend these grand celebrations in Brussels and witness the debates, concerts and events organised to celebrate the day of establishment and spread more awareness about the institution of the European Union.

Popularly known as Winter Wonders, this event takes place at Grand Place and the city centre before and during the Christmas holidays. It includes more than 200 stalls, a Ferris wheel, merry-go-rounds, an ice rink, sound and light shows, and many more cultural activities. There are jugglers and musicians to entertain you, various food stalls to keep your taste buds tingling and knick-knack shops selling antiques and new products.

Anima is an International Animation Film Festival in Brussels, which takes place in Flagey. Anima is a perfect place for lovers of animation films and cartoons. Besides organising national and international competitions, this fest also nominates some films from the European prize-winners for Cartoon d'Or.

Address: Pl. Sainte-Croix, 1050 Bruxelles, Belgium.

Queen Elisabeth Competition (Dutch: Koningin Elisabethwedstrijd, French: Concours musical international Reine Élisabeth) is an international competition organised in Brussels and is meant for budding musicians. This competition is named in honour of Queen Elisabeth of Belgium and has been carried out since 1937. There are different types of competitions for classical instrumentalists, singers, cellists and composers. Competition is considered one of the most demanding and prominent competitions of potential musicians.

The Brussels Summer Festival (BSF) is a renowned annual music event in Brussels. The festival was first organised in the year 2002 by Jeans Steffens. It is a free event which is mainly meant for European artists. From the year of its establishment, the festival expanded its popularity and soon became one of the most renowned music fest attended by thousands of music lovers. The event is held in the month of August.

Brussels is home to internationally renowned musicians. Many organisations organise several jazz festivals throughout the city. Brussels Jazz Festival is one of the jazz events for jazz lovers where young talents and renowned musicians perform.

After attaining success in different cities like London, Paris, Tokyo and New York, this festival was organised in the city of Brussels. It is a special festival dedicated to chocolates. It is a mixture of different events like tastings, cooking displays, patisserie workshops, conferences, workshops, exhibitions and many more. This event is a special culinary treat for the people.