Because of consumers’ concerns over the potential impact of air travel on the environment, many holidaymakers are opting to take the train to go abroad this year.

In response to this consumer demand, SNCB is offering an increased number of trains heading for the Belgian coast this summer, and will also be providing better access via rail to summer festivals across Belgium and major events such as the Tour de France. Moreover, the Interrail pass, which allows you to travel by train throughout Europe, is proving to be an even greater success than usual this year.

To find out more about SNCB’s full range of services during the holidays, please visit its official website.

In other news, the “Back on track” collective wants to restore night trains and thus enable passengers to enjoy this more environmentally-friendly means of long-distance travel. A petition has already gained more than 8,000 signatures, and the collective hopes to push this initiative all the way to the European level.

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The Parade will pass through the following streets:

– Rue Ravenstein (where the Parade will begin at 2.30 pm)
– Putterie
– Carrefour de l’Europe
– Boulevard de l’Impératrice
– Rue d’Arenberg
– Rue d’Ecuyer
– Rue des Fripiers
– Rue de Tabora
– Rue du Midi
– Rue du Lombard
– Place de la Vieille Halle aux Blés
– Rue de l’Escalier
– Boulevard de l’Empereur (where the Parade will finish at 6 pm)

A parking ban on the above streets will be in effect both the day before the parade and on the day itself. It is strongly recommended for those wishing to attend to use public transport.

Exiting the city centre

Residents, traders, and other people based in the city centre during the parade will be able to leave the centre by using the following four exits (see map):

– Boulevard de l’Impératrice – Rue de Loxum
– Rue de Tabora – Rue des Fripiers
– Rue du Lombard – Rue du Midi
– Place Saint-Jean

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The slogan for this year’s parade is “All for One”, while its chosen theme is that of intersectionality, a term intended to signify the way in which different aspects of social, political and gender discrimination can overlap with one another.

By choosing this theme, Belgian Pride and and its supporting organisations want to underline how much the identity of an individual is not merely reducible to their skin colour, sexual orientation, gender, religion, disability or age.

“In addition, intersectionality is an obvious reference to the Stonewall riots in New York in 1969, just 50 years ago,” says Cyrille Prestianni, president of Belgian Pride. “These incidents marked the beginning of a fight that the global LGBTI + community (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and other people) is still fighting today.”

On Saturday, May 18, more than 45 organisations will be holding a ‘Pride Village’ from 12.00 pm at Mont des Arts. A Pride Parade Kick-Off will then take place in the village from 1.45 pm, hosted by Cesár Sampson, the Belgian contestant for the Eurovision Song Contest in 2018.

The Pride Parade will start at 2.30 pm. It will begin by passing through Pride Village, before heading through the streets Ravenstein, Arenberg, the Squire, Fripiers, Midi and Lombard, before eventually returning to its starting point.

No cars will be allowed on the Pride route during the parade. Public transport will also be interrupted between 12 pm and 7 pm on Ravenstein street, and from 2 pm to 7 pm on the rest of the route. Various celebrations are also scheduled to take place from 5 pm, when the parade is scheduled to finish.

Several security measures will be taken to ensure the safety of festival-goers, including searches at the entrance of Pride Village. It is also advisable not to take a backpack to the parade if one can avoid it.

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Red devils (almost) at the top.

It is not possible to talk about Belgian football without mentioning the 2018 World Cup.

The last World Cup in Russia showed that the Red devils were part of the best nations in the world. After the Belgian national team easily made it through the first round, the game vs. Japan (Round of 16) was a crazy one.

But the quarter-final, Belgium against Brazil, was definitely the most successful one for Belgium. The Red devils defeated the Seleçao (2-1), which gave them hope ahead of the semi-finals vs. France.

The Hazard’s mates however lost 1-0 vs. the future winner of the World Cup. Although this game was a very big deal for the Belgian people, the party held in Brussels when the Red devils came back home, on 15 July, was a good example both of their performance and of the Belgian pride.

The 3^rd place was a clear evidence that Belgium is part of the best teams in the world.

 … but let’s have a look at 2020

The World Cup was however not the end of the story. Few weeks after the worldwide competition was over, the Red devils were already involved in the 2018 UEFA Nations League (first edition).

While the Red devils were supposed to get qualified after their four games vs. Switzerland and Iceland, the story was a bit different.

Their last game was against Switzerland in Luzern. In the absence of a winner, Belgium would have been qualified for the semi-finals.

Although the Red devils quickly scored twice, Shaqiri’s mates scored 5 times in a row and took Belgium out of the competition.

As a consequence of this defeat, the Red devils will have to play and win several games over the upcoming months to hope to be qualified for the next 2020 UEFA Euro Cup.

Anderlecht: a disappointing year

While 2018 was a very good year for Belgian football, the outcomes have been completely different for Anderlecht, the best Brusselian team.

At the end of the 2017/2018 season, Anderlecht FC won no title. First of all, the team was kicked out of the Belgian Cup 2017/2018 in November 2017, vs Standard de Liège, the historical rival.

Then, Anderlecht F.C. only achieved to get the 3^rd place in the 2017/2018 Belgian championship. As a quick reminder, Anderlecht F.C. was champion in 2017.

The plan was then to be more successful this year. So far it seems like the plan hasn’t been working. The team was eliminated from the 2018/2019 Europa League in the first round.

When it comes to the championship, Anderlecht F.C. is only 5^th today.

The high-level staff is also looking for a new coach, after they have decided to fire Hein Vanhaezebrouck earlier this month.

As an example of the low-performance of the Brussels team, it’s also worth highlighting the game vs. Union Saint-Gilloise in the Belgian Cup in September.

Union Saint-Gilloise: here we go!

In case you’re not aware, Brussels has another famous football team: Union Saint-Gilloise. The club, which is supported by many Brusselians, is today in second division.

Although its results over the last years have not been incredible, the USG supporters will remember for a while the game vs. Anderlecht last September.

Until that game happened, USG had not defeated Anderlecht in the Astrid stadium (Anderlecht stadium) for almost 50 years. It was worth waiting. USG indeed humiliated Anderlecht 3-0 in the round of 32 of the Belgian Cup. Although it does not put in question the Brusselian football supremacy, this game has been quite a small earthquake in the Belgian football.

The USG adventure still goes on, after the players defeated Genk in quarter finals. They will then play vs. Mechelen in semi-finals on 22 January. Stay tuned…. 🙂

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Today, the Belgian Pride Festival reached its grand finale during the annual Pride Parade. Over 100 000 people and 70 contingents came down to the capital to party, but also to pound the table on the eve of the local elections.

With Your Local Power as the central theme the three LGBTI+ umbrella organizations in Belgium (çavaria, Arc-en-Ciel Wallonie and RainbowHouse Brussels) demand that local authorities should commit to an explicit, integrated LGBTI+ policy.

The Belgian Pride Festival is more than just the well-known Pride Parade. On Friday 4 May the official kick-off for the festival was given in Brussels Town Hall. Offering a varied programme including debates, movies, music performances, the Ihsane Jarfi tribute day and finally the Pride Parade, the organisations were able to lure thousands of LGBTI+ personalities and friends to the city. On the day of the Pride Parade there were over 100 000 people.

All the rainbow colours on parade wagons, Pride Village, Rainbow Village and Pride Stage  

Mayor Philippe Close welcomed everyone to the city, after which the philosophy of the Your Local Power theme was briefly explained during the Pride Parade Kick-Off.

After a glamourous performance by the French drag queen Leona Winter and a dance recital by Trinxx (on high heels) the parade hit the road. This year no less than 70 contingents from all over Belgium joined the exuberant and colourful procession through the centre of Brussels. The festively decorated parade wagons, provided with music and flying rainbow flags.

“Setting up the Belgian Pride takes blood, sweat, and tears every year. Thanks to numerous volunteers this year’s parade was one of the most successful we’ve ever had. We already invite everyone to join the 24^th edition next year, which will take place on the weekend of 17 May”, says Belgian Pride coordinator Elio De Bolle.

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This was the 23rd edition of the Belgian Pride, which, as always, opens the European Pride season; with the European capital demonstrating its diversity and openness to the LGBTI+ community with a two-week festival.

Belgian Pride 2018 on Instagram

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Like every year, the various Pride Festival events will take place in the month of May. It is a key moment in the life of the LGBTI+ communities in Brussels. That’s because, apart from being a festive event, Belgian Pride is the ideal time for putting forward the community appeals and suggesting new lines of political thought.

The theme chosen for this year is “Your local power”. The chance for the three main Belgian LGBTI+ associations – Rainbow House Brussels, Arc-en-ciel Wallonie et çavaria – to call out their future elected representatives on questions of respect for diversity in everyday life, as the communal elections approach.

People’s lives are lived first and foremost in their street, district, municipality or city, where they live or through which they pass. Local politics, therefore, have a huge impact on the daily life of every citizen, including that of these LGBTI+ residents. This is why in 2018, Belgian Pride is putting municipalities and cities under the rainbow banner. On Friday 18 May, it will be the Rainbow Village’s turn to kick off the Belgian Pride weekend festivities. The bars in Saint-Jean district will host DJ sets and other performances put on for the occasion. On Saturday 19 May, the unmissable Belgian Pride procession, the grand finale of the festival fortnight, will fill the centre of the capital with life.

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This is the 23rd edition of Belgian Pride, which, as always, opens the European Pride season; with the European capital demonstrating its diversity and openness to the LGBTI+ community with a two-week festival.

Traditionally starting on 4th May, Belgian Pride kicks off the celebrations by offering a range of activities. These continue up until the final days, 17th-20th, and then culminates with festival goers parading the streets of Brussels through to the fanfare of the Meyboom; passing rainbow decorated buildings and swinging by the Manneken-Pis in its specially designed costume for the occasion.

In addition to the all this, Belgian Pride will be full of new developments this year. The parade will be four days instead of three; will cover new initiatives and activities focusing on the theme of « Local Change and Local Politics”; A silent march against intolerance, roundtable talks at BOZAR, parties, and concerts right in city centre.

The post Belgian Pride 2018 appeared first on Brussels Express.