The Sportpaleis in Antwerp and Ancienne Belgique in Brussels have been listed among the most popular concert venues in the world by the American concert industry magazine Pollstar . “Flanders has once again shown it can operate at the top of the world in the music industry,” said Jan Van Esbroeck,...

The plan to close Brussels' downtown core around the Bourse and Place De Brouckere is attracting as many ideas as criticism as to how best to make it work. A long debate ensued on Monday night during a Brussels municipal meeting that focused on making sure that the proposed pedestrian zone is...

It’s almost an insult that the French organisers of the Salon du Chocolat waited so long to bring the world’s biggest chocolate fair to Brussels (the travelling event has already hit the UK, Japan, Brazil and of course France). One suspects they were a tad embarrassed to bring so many coals to...

The famed Westvleteren 12 Trappist ale from the Sint-Sixtus abbey in Westvleteren in West Flanders has again been rated among the top beers in the world by the website RateBeer. This year, breaking with tradition, the site declines to place the top 100 beers in order. However, Westvleteren 12...

The Flemish government’s official architect, Peter Swinnen, has criticised the plans revealed last week by Brussels-City council to introduce a pedestrian-only zone along the major artery in the centre of the city, between Place de la Bourse ( photo ) and Place De Brouckere. The plan includes...

The trial of 31 people accused of fixing professional football matches in Belgium got underway on Monday in Brussels, despite the absence of the alleged mastermind of the operation, who remains at large. The search for the prime suspect, Chinese businessman Zehyun Ye, has been going on for nine...

Defence minister Pieter De Crem was among the 20 heads of state and many other high-level officials who convened in Bavaria last weekend to discuss all pressing security matters at the 50th Munich Security Conference. High on the agenda were the ongoing crisis in Syria, negotiations with Iran...

Two students died on Friday night when the apartment they were renting in Leuven caught fire. The two women were of Polish and Latvian origin but had Irish nationality, and were on an Erasmus exchange from the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology in Ireland, where they were in the second year of a...

Although Couchsurfing (CS) today is most identified as an online community that allows you to travel the world surfing strangers’ couches, many forget its other purpose: to connect (or reconnect) you with your local city. Indeed, the Brussels CS community is a worthy portal for expanding friendship...

In a bold move, Belgium has sent letters to around 2,712 citizens of other EU member states asking them to leave the country for burdening the welfare system. The letters have been issued as the number of unwanted residents made to leave has tripled over the past three years. Although the notices...