King and queen to attend concert at AB tonight

Brussels’ Ancienne Belgique (AB) is preparing for a royal visit, with Belgium’s King Philippe and Queen Mathilde expected to attend tonight’s concerts featuring two Belgian bands. "The king has already listened to their CDs," AB general manager Dirk De Clippeleir told Radio 1, according to VRT news.

Tonight’s double bill, in celebration of the AB’s 35th anniversary, features performances by the Flemish band Intergalactic Lovers (pictured) and the Wallonian group Girls in Hawaii.

"We sent an invitation to this concert to all of the foreign ambassadors in Belgium," said De Clippeleir in radio show De Ochtend. "Then we thought, let's aim high and invite the king and queen. They replied saying they wanted to come, just the two of them!"

The popular concert venue has reserved the entire 250-seat tribune for the royal couple and the ambassadors. De Clippeleir said. "The palace has informed us that the king would like to meet some concert-goers after the show. So we will select 15 people from the audience to have a chat with him in the wings."