Brussels sprouts, foxes and nudity in art: Join Brussels Explained next week to discover more about our city

Where do Brussels sprouts come from? Why are there so many foxes in the city? And what led to cars being banished from the Grand-Place?

These are just some of the questions that will be tackled in the next series of Brussels Explained, an eye-opening and interactive set of talks in May that aim to help us better understand the city in which we live.

After starting as a real-life event pre-pandemic, Brussels Explained has continued virtually throughout the coronavirus crisis, with participants giving their presentation and answering questions in real-time via Facebook Live.

The series is jointly organised by The Bulletin, Flemish-Dutch culture house De Buren, the non-profit Curieus vzw and freelance journalist Selma Franssen.

Each expert will deliver a short presentation on a different aspect of city life - followed by plenty of opportunity for questions and answers.

On Tuesday 4 May (20.00-20.45):

• Journalist Karen McHugh will describe how the Grand-Place became a pedestrian zone
• Olivier Beck from Bruxelles Environnement will talk about the secret life of foxes in Brussels

On Thursday 6 May (20.00-21.00):

• Paralegal Hildegard Frimpong will explain everything you need to know about Belgian health insurance funds
• Author Eddie Niesten talks about the origin of Brussels sprouts
• Ciska Hoet, co-director of RoSan, will close the evening with a presentation on female nudity in art museums after #metoo

You can ask a question in advance by emailing info@selmafranssen.nl - or leave a comment in real-time during the Facebook chat.

After the event, each explainer will be published as a podcast and you can also hear extracts from the talks on The Bulletin's Sunday lunchtime radio programme on Bruzz and the full presentation on Monday evenings (19.00) on The Bulletin's webradio.

Brussels Explained, Tuesday 4 and Thursday 6 May, 20.00, on Facebook Live