'Absolute record' for Museum Night Fever

Brussels' Museum Night Fever attracted a record 17,000 people to the city's museums on Saturday night, organisers have confirmed.

Thirty museums stayed open until 1.00 in the morning to welcome visitors with a range of after-hours activities.

The Belvue museum had the highest turnout - 12,095 - followed by the Magritte Museum on 6,156, where visitors were immmersed in the artist’s surrealist world, including theatre pieces, clowns and a “Japanese dance of darkness”

Recently opened Kanal attracted 5,000 visitors with live painting, dance lessons and a life-size table football game, while the newest addition to the city's museum scene, Choco Story, saw 1,777 people get involved.

A Brussels Museums spokeswoman said Saturday's attendance figures were "an absolute record" and that three-quarters of participants were under 35.

Anyone with a Museum Night Fever bracelet can exchange it for a free ticket to one of the 30 participating museums until the end of March.