As Belgium gears up for National Day celebrations, it's also an opportunity to celebrate the best-known Belgians on the international stage.
For a relatively small country, Belgium has made a name for itself in global arenas, from sports to science. Here's a run-down of some of the nation's biggest living legends.
Lukas Dhont (33)
This Ghent-born film director and screenwriter (who has had a camera in his hand since he was 12) premiered his debut feature film 'Girl' at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival. The film is about a transgender teenager determined to become a ballerina. It won the Caméra d'Or and the Queer Palm awards.
Director Lukas Dhont pictured during the 13th edition of the 'Magritte du Cinema' film awards ceremony, Saturday 09 March 2024, in Brussels. Credit: Belga / Laurie Dieffembacq
'Close', Dhont's second feature film, follows two 13-year-old boys whose friendship is tested when their relationship comes under scrutiny. It premiered at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival and won their Grand Prix. It was also nominated at the Golden Globe Awards and as the Belgian representative for the Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars.
Dhont also featured on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list in 2019.
Catherine De Bolle (54)
Currently the head of EU-wide law enforcement agency Europol, Catherine De Bolle has been executive director of the agency since 2018, and is the first woman to take up the role as Europe's 'Top Cop'.
Catherine De Bolle pictured during a press conference of Europol to present a report on the most threatening criminal networks in the European Union. Credit: Belga / Hatim Kaghat
Born in the Flemish city of Aalst in 1970, De Bolle has previously said she is used to "breaking glass ceilings", as she served as the first woman chief commissioner of the Belgian federal police from 2012 to 2018.
Having also served as chief of police in the zone of Nivone (2001–2012), De Bolle studied law at Ghent University and graduated from the Royal Gendarmerie Academy in Belgium.
Eddy Merckx (79)
The former professional road and track cyclist, born in the Flemish town of Meensel-Kiezegem, is internationally renowned as the most successful rider in the history of competitive cycling.
Credit: Belga
He won 525 races in his career, including an unequalled eleven Grand Tours (the Tour de France and the Giro d’Italia five times apiece, and a Vuelta a España).
Merckx quit racing in 1978 but he remains a Belgian hero. His name now appears on a Brussels school, a metro station and a square. Fans can see his old steel-framed racing bikes displayed in a glass case in Eddy Merckx metro station.
Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker (64)
Born in the Flemish city of Mechelen, De Keersmaeker is an internationally acclaimed contemporary dance choreographer.
While studying at the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU (New York University), she presented her first production Asch (1980). After returning to Belgium from the USA, she created her "breakthrough" production Fase – four movements to the music of Steve Reich.
Arguably the world’s most celebrated dancer and choreographer, De Keersmaeker has gone on to produce a vast body of work over four decades, from major theatre productions to site-specific performances in museums, forests or cloisters. Her dance company Rosas (established in 1983) was in residence at La Monnaie/De Munt in Brussels (the national opera of Belgium) from 1992 to 2007.
The Belgian newspaper De Standaard published an article in June based on the testimonies of present and former company dancers at Rosas. They accused the choreographer of authoritarianism, bullying and body-shaming her dancers. Rosas did not respond directly to the article but said in a statement that "artistic work must be created in a safe and respectful environment" and that the dance company takes this issue "very seriously".
Stromae (39)
Paul van Haver, better known by his stage name Stromae, is a singer, rapper, songwriter and producer, best known internationally for his 2009 hit 'Alors On Danse' which became a number one in several European countries.
Credit: Belga
His music blends hip-hop and electronic sounds and his 2013 album 'Racine Carrée' was a commercial success, selling two million copies in France and yielding chart-topping singles 'Papaoutai' and 'Formidable'.
The Brussels-born artist has struggled with his health in recent years, most recently forcing him to cancel his world tour in 2023.
Justine Henin (42) and Kim Clijsters (41)
Just a year apart in age, these two Belgian tennis all-stars rose through the global rankings at the same time, both spending stints as world number one.
Justine Henin (L) and Kim Clijsters (R) pictured at a press conference of the two Belgian tennis players in 2010. Credit: Belga / Dirk Waem
Liège-born Henin spent a total of 117 weeks as the world number one and was the year-end number one in 2003, 2006 and 2007. She won a total of 43 WTA singles titles, including seven Grand Slam singles titles: the French Open in 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2007, the US Open in 2003 and 2007, and the Australian Open in 2004.
Meanwhile Bilzen-born Clijsters reached the world number one ranking in both singles and doubles, having held both rankings simultaneously in 2003. She won 41 WTA titles, including 4 Grand Slams, the 2011 Australian Open, and the 2005, 2009 and 2010 US Opens.
Peter Piot (75)
This Belgian-British microbiologist is known for his pioneering research into Ebola and AIDS. Born in Leuven, Piot helped to discover the Ebola virus in 1976 and led efforts to contain the first-ever recorded Ebola epidemic that same year.
Peter Piot pictured at the 2022 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland. Credit: Belga / Eric Lalmand
He later became a pioneering researcher into AIDS and has held key positions in the United Nations and World Health Organization involving AIDS research and management.
He has also served as a professor at several universities worldwide and is the author of 16 books and more than 600 scientific articles.
Nafissatou Thiam (29)
The Brussels-born Olympian specialises in combination events and has twice taken home the gold medal (2016 and 2020) in the heptathlon – which involves hurdles, shot-put, javelin, high and long jump, and 200 metre and 800 metre sprints.
Belgian Nafissatou Nafi Thiam celebrates after winning the high jump competition, part of the women's heptathlon, at the 19th IAAF World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, USA, Sunday 17 July 2022. Credit: Belga / Thomas Windestam
Thiam is the second heptathlete ever to retain her Olympic title, and the first Belgian athlete to win back-to-back Olympic gold medals.
She has twice been crowned World Champion in the discipline – in 2017 in London and in 2022 in Eugene, Oregon. She is a three-time European champion in the heptathlon in 2018, 2022 and 2024, as well as a three-time European indoor champion in the pentathlon, in 2017, 2021 and 2023.
Jean Claude Van Damme (63)
Known affectionately as the "Muscles from Brussels", this Brussels-born Hollywood star is an icon of action and martial arts cinema.
Credit: Belga
After enrolling in karate school in Belgium at the age of ten, Van Damme moved to the US in 1982 to pursue his dream of becoming an actor. He went on to become a popular action film star, gaining commercial success with films such as Bloodsport (1988), Cyborg (1989), Kickboxer (1989), Lionheart (1990), Double Impact (1991), Universal Soldier (1992), Nowhere to Run (1993), and Hard Target (1993).
His films have grossed over $1 billion worldwide, making him one of the most successful action stars of all time. Outside acting, Van Damme has publicly supported various conservationist causes and animal rights organisations.
Romelu Lukaku (31)
Born in Antwerp, Lukaku is the Belgium football team's all-time top goalscorer. Having made his international debut with the Red Devils in 2010, he has represented his country at six major tournaments: the 2016, 2020 and 2024 UEFA European Championships and the 2014, 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups. Lukaku is currently a striker for Premier League club Chelsea.
Romelu Lukaku. Credit: Belga
Other honourable mentions in the Belgian footballer category go to Drongen native Kevin de Bruyne (33), captain of the Belgian national team and midfielder for Premier League club Manchester City, and Brussels-born Vincent Kompany (38) who is now retired from playing but is head coach for German club Bayern Munich.
Kompany's father, Pierre Kompany, fled to Belgium from Congo in 1975 and went on to become Belgium's first black mayor in 2018.
