Belgium in 2017
2016 is almost coming to an end, so it's time to briefly look ahead to the new year. 2017 promises to be a year filled with cultural, industrial and sporting highlights!
At the beginning of the year, it's always exciting to imagine what will happen in the next twelve months. In 2017, thousands of Belgian students will graduate, couples will get married and families will bring new life into the world. As editors of Focus on Belgium, we hope that 2017 will be more prosperous than 2016 in every way.
We are already looking forward to a wide variety of cultural events in Belgium. After a month full of celebrations in January, we continue the party in February and March during the Carnivals of Aalst and Binche. That will be the warm-up for the festival season, which will officially kick off with Rock Werchter (29 June – 2 July) and then via Dour Festival (12-16 July) build up to the absolute highlight with dance festival Tomorrowland (21-30 July).
Furthermore, the international festival Europalia is once again taking place in Belgium this year. From 10 October 2017 to 21 January 2018, many Belgian cities will put a spotlight on the Indonesian traditions and contemporary culture. The festival is expected to draw half a million foreign visitors to our country. From 9 to 13 May, Belgium in turn will be going to Kiev with 16-year old Ellie Delvaux to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest.
As for sporting events, we are already on the edge of our seat for the cycling classics in March and April. The icing on the cake will be the Tour of Flanders (2 April) and Liège–Bastogne–Liège (23 April). Furthermore, large numbers of motorsport fans will be attending the Formula 1 race in Spa-Francorchamps (27 August). It promises to be a fantastic edition, since Belgium once again has an F1 driver lined up with Stoffel Vandoorne.
For the athletics enthusiasts, the AG Insurance Memorial Van Damme (1 September) promises to be a real treat. This year, it will be the closing event of the completely revamped IAAF Diamond League. Lastly, we will all be cheering on our national teams who are either trying to qualify for a major tournament, or participating in a European or World Championship.