This weekend's agenda includes a wide variety of events going on in the capital. From celebrating the city's heritage, to Belgian music concerts, a ball in one of Brussels' most historic venues and interactive light installations – here's what's on in Brussels in the coming days!
Arts music and culture
Belgian Music Days, final day Friday 16 February
The Belgian Music Days biennial brings together the different language communities in Belgium around a common heritage: music dating back to Belgium's creation in 1830 to the present day. The event seeks to express the diverse and extremely lively breeding ground for musicians who have come from all over the world to settle and develop their careers here.
Credit: Belgian Music Days
For every edition, the Belgian Music Days conquer a different Belgian city, and will now, for the first time, take place in Brussels during the Belgian EU Presidency. This year's festival is ending with a bang on Friday, with Fuga Trophy, the "Union of Belgian Composers" in the afternoon, and the Royal Symphonic Band of the Belgian Guides, a large brass band and a cavalry trumpet corps of international renown.
Find more information here.
FestiVita! Brussels Early Music Festival, various locations in Brussels, until Sunday 18 February
Organising its third edition, this festival is still a relative newbie on the Brussels scene – but FestiVita! has already won over the hearts of historical music lovers in the capital. Celebrating Early Music, audiences are invited on a journey to the heart of Medieval and Renaissance music in the private salons at the Cercle Royal Gaulois at Parc Royal in the heart of Brussels.
Credit: FestiVita!
The historic venue will open its doors to the public for sixteen exceptional concerts, a banquet and a unmissable ball (as in dance event). From an awe-inspiring performance by the award-winning ensemble Zefiro Torna to a play of diatonic accordions brought by Anne Niepold and Andy Cutting.
Find more information here.
It take a city festival, various locations, until Saturday 17 February
In stark contrast with the previously mentioned events, this festival is on the very other end of the arts spectrum, showcasing the next generation of Brussels performing artists. However, just like the Belgian Music Days, it brings together the Dutch and French language communities, across linguistic, cultural and regional boundaries.
Credit: It take a city festival/ buren
With 13 shows across nine locations, there is plenty on the programme to choose from. Our highlights? Jonas Chéreau's "Réverbérer", in which he explores the dynamics of dancing and light, and buren's performance examines the relationships between customers and vendors, producers and products in various contexts, and how they are connected.
Find more information here.
Out and about
Bright Festival, various locations across Brussels, until Sunday 18 February
One of the capital's most beloved events is back: the Brussels Festival of Lights (or Bright). Explore two of the city's emblematic neighbourhoods – the Royal Quarter and the European Quarter – with some 30 stunning, immersive, poetic and monumental light installations by artists from home and abroad.
Les Luminéoles at the Bright Brussels in 2020. Credit: Belga/ Charlotte Gekiere
Alongside these, an equally illuminating fringe programme of guided tours, live entertainment and heritage illuminations punctuate the festival, as well as the newest edition to the programme: a children's zone. There is no better way to lighten up the dark days.
Find more information here.
Vive La Magie, Auderghem Cultural Centre, Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 February
For its 16th edition, Europe's leading festival of the magical arts is returning to the capital for the second year in a row (it previously only toured in France and Switzerland) with a brand new show titled "Golden Magic" show, featuring 10 magicians from all over the world.
Credit: Vive La Magie
Welcoming children from the age of 5 to spectators as old as 90, the show has repeatedly been praised by professionals in the field for its constant innovation. From acts of illusionists and manipulators to comic magicians and mentalists, each one more grandiose than the last, this promises to be an un-missable event that strays far from the magician clichés.
Find more information here.
