What's on this week: 27 May-3 June

The 20km of Brussels is back for a 37th year, with 40,000 runners and more than 100 different nationalities pounding the city's streets. The route has been slightly altered to accommodate for the closed Stéphanie and Montgomery tunnels. The race still starts at Cinquantenaire in the direction of the Schuman roundabout, heading towards Place Poelaert and Avenue Louise, the Bois da la Cambre, Chaussée de la Hulpe, Boulevard du Souverain and back up Avenue de Tervueren towards the finish at Cinquantenaire.
29 May from 10.00, around Brussels

The Live Comedy Festival continues with a performance from Nina Conti, a brilliant ventriloquist who uses the audience as her puppets. Conti creates a new show each night by plucking people from the audience and attaching a ventriloquist's mask to their face.
31 May, 20.00 at Bozar

The Syrian civil war has put refugees back in the daily headlines, but there is another refugee crisis that has been smouldering in the region far longer. The Palestinians have been displaced for nearly 70 years. Their story has often been told by others. This film cycle gives Palestinian filmmakers a platform to express themselves. Offerings include Hind Shoufani’s historical documentary A Trip Along Exodus and the premiere of Toomas Järvet’s Ramallah-set drama Rough Stage, both followed by discussions with the directors. There is also a round table with several Palestinian artists.
29-30 May at Bozar, Brussels

Berlin-based artist Simon Denny’s first solo exhibition in Belgium combines brand new work with pieces presented at last year’s Venice Biennale (where he represented his native New Zealand). The young artist’s critique of globalisation is in keeping with his generation’s salutary sense of rebellion. Denny’s multimedia installations are overtly political, targeting by name – or corporate logo – businesses like Samsung and government agencies like the US National Security Agency. On the technical level, he fuses postmodern hyperrealism with a wry surrealist sensibility. Official documents are juxtaposed with bizarre, seemingly unrelated artefacts to suggest the absurdity of it all.
Until 14 August at Wiels, Brussels

Apéro Saint-Gilles returns after a long winter’s hibernation. If you don’t already know, this weekly, open-air party is an institution in Brussels’ most cosmopolitan commune. Saint-Gilles residents hail from all corners of the world and work in all corners of Brussels, but after they clock out on Friday, they all convene in front of the town hall for a happy hour that stretches into the night. The weekly event boasts pop-up cocktail bars and made-to-order burgers by Urban Cook. This grand re-opening evening features live music by L-Fêtes.
27 May to 29 July, from 17.00 at Place Maurice Van Meenen, Brussels

Does the multitude of European institutions confuse you? Would you like to learn more about how the European institutions work and the issues that they deal with on behalf of Europe’s citizens? This Saturday is the perfect opportunity as the European institutions will open their doors to the public. The theme for this year's event will be the European Union motto: "United in diversity". The European Parliament, European Council, Council of the European Union, European Commission, European Economic and Social Committee, European Committee of the Regions and European External Action Service will join forces to welcome visitors. The buildings of the European Quarter, from the Schuman Roundabout down Rue Belliard to the Place du Luxembourg, will be open to the public from 10.00-18.00. Site visits, information stands, interactive activities, debates, concerts and exhibitions are all on the menu. 

As part of the EU open day, the annual Fête du Pain will take place on the Schuman roundabout, in the heart of the EU quarter on Saturday. The centre of the roundabout will be turned into a bakery for the day with some of Europe's best breads being produced and displayed for visitors. Nearby restaurants and businesses will also be taking part adding a local village feel to one of Brussels' busiest junctions. Find out more here...
28 May, Rond-Point Schuman from 10.00-18.00

The Fête des Voisins (Neighbours' Day or Dag van de Buren) is a convivial occasion that brings neighbours into contact with each other on the last Friday in May, with dozens of events all over the city. Find out more about the event's history and how to organise your own get-together here.
27 May, across Belgium

The Brussels Museums Council has launched the exhibition 100 Masters, which sees 100 exceptional works of art on show for 100 days in 41 museums across the capital. The idea is to put top pieces from the museums’ permanent collections on show, as they are sometimes neglected in favour of temporary exhibitions. The council selected 500 artworks from the 108 museums in the capital and put them to a jury of 20 representatives from the cultural and tourism sectors, together with restorers and communications specialists. The result is a website and social media campaign suggesting the ideal itinerary as well as information on the works. The works include paintings, sculpture and monuments, both ancient and contemporary, such as Jacques-Louis David’s “The Death of Marat”, Jan Fabre’s ballpoint pen mural “L’Heure Bleue” and an Ndop statue of a king from the Congolese Kasai region, whose creator is unknown. Read more about the campaign here…
Until 27 August at museums across Brussels

Irish funnyman Dara O'Briain brings his first live stand-up comedy show in three years, Crowd Tickler, to the Cirque Royale in Brussels on Monday. A familiar face on TV with the hugely successful Mock The Week, this is a return to his stand-up comedy roots, with rapid-fire audience interaction and plenty of witty and daring anecdotes.
30 May, 20.00 at Cirque Royale, Brussels

Started in 1988, the biennial Parcours d'Artistes of Saint-Gilles has now been joined by Forest and consists this year of 430 artists. Not only does this artists' itinerary allow the public to enter the studios of the participants but this year a special emphasis has been put on the place of art and the artist in public spaces. Read more about this year's programme here.
May 28-29 and June 4-5, plus nocturnes on May 27 and June 3, around Forest and Saint-Gilles

Photo: European Commission DG ECHO/Flickr. Licensed under Creative Commons