Around 7,000 people came together for a community meal celebrating both Easter and Ramadan in Borgerhout, Antwerp, on Sunday evening. The two-kilometre-long gathering broke the Belgian record for the longest table.
Last year, Borgerhout convened the local community around a one-kilometre-long table. As Easter fell in the middle of Ramadan this year, organisers decided to go one step further and stretched the dinner table to a staggering 2,011 metres to accommodate more people.
Locals celebrating Easter, eating iftar (the meal that breaks the daytime fast during Ramadan) or simply anyone in search of a hearty meal were all able to come and take part.
Een prachtig voorbeeld van verbinding tussen mensen ongeacht hun achtergrond of religie.❤️ Laat vooral haat, opgedrongen vanuit #extreemrechts, niet de bovenhand krijgen!#Ramadan en #Pasen brengen duizenden mensen samen aan tafel van 2 kilometer lang in het Belgische Borgerhout.… pic.twitter.com/CDqUCZN3Un
— Cis Rits (@cisrits) March 31, 2024
The event was attended by Deputy Prime Minister Petra de Sutter (Groen) and other prominent politicians such as Borgerhout Mayor Marian El Osri (Groen).
"We want to bring together people from different backgrounds to create connections and promote dialogue," said El Osri.
"Everyone was welcome, not just Muslims or Christians," said Latifa El Morabit of socio-cultural organisation FMV, speaking to VRT. "You can really eat anything here. There's Flemish potato salad, but also Palestinian maklouba, a dish of upside-down rice often eaten in Syria. And of course, there's Moroccan harira, a spicy soup with which we often break the fast."
