Brussels in English

The Royal Library of Belgium (KBR), long a favoured spot for scholars and researchers is now pursuing a policy of actively welcoming the general public. The core of the library's collection, hundreds of magnificent illuminated manuscripts amassed by the Dukes of Burgundy in the XVth century, is now available to the public in the new KBR Museum. Due to the fragility of the documents they can only b...

The English-language school has been in Parmentier Park for 11 years and has received no clear answer as to why it is being asked to vacate. Parents have launched a petition.

Cinematek is reopening on 9 June with newly renovated screening rooms, new seats, newly restored and digitalized films, and a new much user- friendlier website. To celebrate the reopening they will be premiering the newly restored version of André Derlvaux's first film, The Man with the Shaved Head and inaugurating an exhibition on the quirky genius of Fernand Schirren, silent film pianist accompa...

As the director of La Monnaie gears up for the opera house’s first live performances since last autumn, he reflects on a year of burgeoning creativity and frustrating political decisions

Brussels Jazz Weekend is back in the capital. Of course it couldn’t take place last year, because of corona, but this year the event has returned, fully outdoors and free of charge. Jazz musicians will play on balconies and roofs in every municipality in the capital.

The Millenium Documentary Film Festival goes online with more than 60 films as well as livestreamed debates. Subjects in the wide range of new documentary features range from retraining coal miners to recording memories during Alzheimer’s to the state of democracy around the world. Films are a mere €4 each – and €15 buys you the whole programme. All films subtitled in English or French.

The House of European History is expanding. It is opening its new permanent exhibition space, Europe Now, on 9 May. Located on the sixth floor of the museum, the new exhibition, which combines interactive installations and contemplative spaces, is made up of a dynamic collection of videos, photos, objects and works of art, all accompanied by audiovisual commentary in 24 different languages. Andrea...

The Iris Festival – that major annual event in Brussels that takes place on Victory in Europe Day – it was  cancelled last year but it is going ahead next weekend with a hybrid version, with some of it online and some of it in real life. We talk to the tourist organisation Visit Brussels about what we can expect.

Edward McMillan is on a mission to establish a new theatre in Brussels that will professionally produce work in English. The Bridge will be a new cultural institution for Brussels that will use the power of theatre to promote progressive values, social cohesion and environmental sustainability. The theatre will begin by organising community-based activities this summer, such as workshops for child...

Easter is synonymous with eating chocolate and in Belgium – touted as the world capital for cocoa treats – the choice of eggs and chocolate delights is second to none. But one chocolate manufacturer, who is pioneering a €2 million Fairtrade project in West Africa, has this timely message for families. “You can’t buy an Easter egg that is not Fairtrade because how can a child in Belgium be happy wi...

After a year of being closed, legendary techno dance club Fuse is taking advantage of pandemic rules that allow it to open as a temporary art exhibition venue and museum to present Echoing Through Eternity, a pop-up exhibition retracing the history of the peerless Brussels nightlife venue. In its 27-year history it has attracted not only dedicated clubbers from near and far but also the world’s be...

Alessandra Teston is the owner of Mosto, which hosts online wine tastings led by the growers themselves, straight from the vineyard in Italy

As head of the Communicable Disease department at Brussels health and welfare agency Cocom, Inge Neven is co-ordinating the region’s coronavirus vaccination campaign. The Bulletin spoke to her about the centres and the schedule at the heart of vaccination conversations in the capital.

How many people with a disability do you know personally? That’s a question put to us by an initiative called Circuit Sortie, which brings together people who are physically or developmentally challenged with people who are not to take part in all kinds of activities, from city trips to a walk in the park. We talk to Kristel Gevaert, the co-director of Hart voor Handicap, the organisation in charg...

In our series on expat groups in Belgium – also broadcast on our community web radio – the Bulletin talks to Glenn Vaughan and Tim Reynolds from volunteer organisation BBCA.

Bozar is staging the largest exhibition ever devoted to Roger Raveel, one of Belgium’s greatest artists of the 20th century.

How do you make people feel like they are attending a real festival in person rather than online? That was the challenge facing the Passa Porta Festival, which kicks off on 21 March. A biennial hosted by the Passa Porta house of literature in Brussels, it usually takes place across the capital, inviting readers to hear both new and established voices as well as visit its landmark performance venue...

We hear from Rozina Spinnoy, organiser of the Reclaim These Streets vigil in Brussels on Saturday night, in memory of Sarah Everard, who was abducted and murdered while walking home in London. According to recent research, 80% of women in Belgium have been intimidated or harassed in public. The problem is especially apparent in the larger cities. In Brussels, for instance, the figure is closer to...

Brussels punches above its weight when it comes to culture in general, and its plethora of art galleries is no different. The event Brussels, I Love You – affectionately known as BILY – wants you to pop into them one by one, discovering the capital as you go. We hear from one of the organisers.

March is Black History Month in Belgium. We hear from Eric Cyuzuzo, one of the organisers, who tell us why it is important and about the many events going on.

How would you like to meet with your therapist as an avatar in a virtual world? It could become  a reality if a research project by a group of Belgian psychologists and creative technicians proves successful. It’s called Soulhacker, and the group is the first to develop such a virtual reality (VR) programme for the treatment of depression.

Who Killed Agathe? It’s a new murder mystery game that you can play in the Wilder forest in Berchem-Saint-Agathe. We talk to Vincent Riga, a city-councillor in the commune and one of the developers of the game

In the first of a series on expat groups in Belgium – also broadcast on our community web radio – the Bulletin talks to Benedetta Dentamaro of Italians Abroad

Like the rest of us, Sophie Lenoir took to her bike for a little exercise and fresh air during the lockdown last spring. And she began to think about all those families behind all those locked doors. A professional photographer, she put out a call on a Facebook group devoted to the Laeken neighbourhood, where she lives. She wanted to photograph those families in front of their homes. She started i...

Lise Skinnebach is a psychologist and a member of Community Help Service (CHS). She is very concerned about the mental health effects of the pandemic and has written a piece for The Bulletin that in particular focuses on loneliness.