The giant Coca-Cola billboard looming over Place De Brouckère has officially been taken down after seven decades watching over the city centre.
According to Brussels' Dutch-speaking media Bruzz, the massive panel, perched atop the former Hotel Continental, disappeared on Wednesday due to a renovation project led by the City of Brussels, which owns the edifice.
Unlike in previous makeovers, this time the emblematic advert has been officially removed for good.
The billboard had already gone dark years ago after running into permit issues, leaving behind nothing more than a giant black screen glaring awkwardly over the square. But now, after nearly 70 years of Coca-Cola's branding lighting up the square, it is gone.
De Brouckère Square in central Brussels pictured on Saturday 7 June 2025. Credit: Belga / Nicolas Maeterlinck
The advertising billboard has sat on the roof since 1952, originally targeting motorists cruising through Brussels 'once traffic-choked central boulevards. In 2011, the old-school signage was swapped for a flashy digital version, though not everyone was a fan of the upgrade.
"The Coca-Cola billboard on the roof of the Hotel Continental now definitively belongs to the past," said Brussels State Secretary for Heritage Ans Persoons to Bruzz.
Persoons reportedly described the digital panel as "less charming" than the original and pointed out that its lights were officially switched off back in 2021.
"The debate around advertising versus art in public spaces is reopening the discussion about what Brussels should look like," she added.
"A chapter is closing, but a new story for De Brouckère is beginning."
The sign seen in Place de Brouckère before the beginning of the transformations for the metro in 1971. Credit: Belga
