Future still uncertain for Brussels’ American Theatre

It remains unclear what will happen with the American Theatre located in Brussels’ Heysel/Heizel district. In March, the city of Brussels announced that it would not simply give it away to Brussels concert hall Ancienne Belgique (AB), which has had plans for the theatre for several years. "So far all political levels have been enthusiastic about our project," said AB director Dirk De Clippeleir. For now, the future of the building rests upon a stack of papers waiting for a new federal government.

The American Theatre has been home to the television studios of the Flemish public broadcaster VRT for years, and to Radio 2 as well, until it moved to Leuven in 2012. The theatre was built as part of the American pavilion at the 1958 World’s Fair in Brussels, after which the American government sold it to the Belgian State for one dollar.

The city of Brussels now has a short-term lease on the building from the federal government, and several non-profit organisations have their offices there. In August, 2013, the AB presented its business plan for transforming the building into a multidisciplinary concert hall with space for rehearsal and training rooms. But Brussels Tourism Minister Philippe Close earlier this year presented his own proposal to purchase and renovate the hall, declaring that he was not prepared to just “hand it over to the AB.”