Belgium's culture world has announced a protest for Sunday against the decision by the Consultative Committee to close show rooms so as to block the Omicron variant of the Coronavirus, according to Belga news agency.
The protest is scheduled to start at 2.00 p.m. at the Mont des Arts in central Brussels (and not the Place de la Monnaie as originally planned), Flemish actor Stany Crets announced.
“At this peaceful meeting of persons who have culture and events at heart, we shall ask the Consultative Committee to roll back its decision,” the organisers said. “At the same time, we shall insistently ask for a feasible, profitable long-term framework for culture, backed by supportive measures.”
Wednesday’s Consultative Committee decision to close cultural venues from Sunday 26 December in order to block the arrival of the Omicron variant has caused a furore in the world of culture and astonished scientific experts, who had not advocated any such measure.
Many cinemas and theatres in Belgium have already announced that they will flout or circumvent the decision, mainly by turning their show rooms into bars or restaurants, which have been allowed to remain open.
