To ring in the end of the Bright Brussels event, from 2 February to 5 February 2017, the canal district of Brussels will sparkle and shine for the Bright Brussels Festival!
Located between the Square Sainctelette and the Place des Armateurs, the Bright Brussels Festival will be a chance to come to the waterside and marvel at a series of light displays, each more impressive than the last. These four nights are sure to be eventful: as night falls, the Bright Brussels Festival will make it possible for you to play with light in a dynamic and fun atmosphere.
This year’s highlights included:
At the centre of the Place Stéphanie, stands “Tree of Light”, a majestic Christmas tree ten metres tall made entirely of LED lights, bringing festivity to the magic of holiday lights.
The Astera is a distant cousin of the thistle found in our countryside. This wild flower has adapted to the urban landscape, and can reach over twelve metres in height. An intriguing silvery plant with a bright glimmer during the day, at sunset it transforms into a mesmerizing creature, its heart erupting into a storm of coloured beams of light that illuminate its bristling structure. A night-flower with a curious form of photosynthesis, the Aster blooms at sunset, revealing its splendour as it flares up in a kaleidoscope of dazzling colours.
The bridge of the Porte de Flandre is the physical tie between the affluent Rue Antoine Dansaert and the multicultural Chaussée de Gand. As such, it was important to celebrate this crossroads between two populations and the Brussels canal. Four lines of LED lights span the breadth of the water, spawning waves of light 15 metres in the air. In all, 360 coloured tubes bring cheer and festiveness to this gateway between the city centre and Molenbeek.
An international business hub, the Place du Luxembourg square is one of the places that brings together Brussels-based expats. Every day in the neighbouring streets, thousands of them go to work, get together, or have a bite to eat or a drink. For Bright Brussels Winter, 12 giant desk lamps bring a hint of fun to these everyday objects from the world of work. Located on the Place du Luxembourg and the Square du Meeus, these multicoloured objects will warm up the Brussels winter.
Place Poelaert will sparkle with disco fever! This emblematic part of our capital will be decorated in a fun and festive atmosphere (for a change)! A giant mirror ball over 5 metres in diameter will take centre stage at the heart of the square, while a light show will cast shimmering light over the neighbouring buildings!
Full program:
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Pour clôturer l’évènement Bright Brussels, du 2 février au 5 février 2017, le quartier du canal de Bruxelles brillera de mille feux à l’occasion du Bright Brussels Festival !
Situé entre le square Sainctelette et la place des Armateurs, le Bright Brussels Festival sera l’occasion de venir s’étonner et s’émerveiller au bord de l’eau autour d’une série d’installations lumineuses toutes plus impressionnantes les unes que les autres. Ces quatre soirs promettent d’être hauts en couleurs : à la tombée du jour, le Bright Brussels Festival vous offrira la possibilité de jouer avec la lumière, dans une ambiance dynamique et ludique.
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Om Bright Brussels af te sluiten, zal de Brusselse kanaalzone van 2 tot 5 februari 2017 sprankelen voor het Bright Brussels Festival!
Het Bright Brussels Festival, tussen de Sainctelettesquare en het Redersplein, is dé gelegenheid voor de bezoeker om aan het water betoverd te worden door een reeks lichtinstallaties, de ene nog indrukwekkender dan de andere. Het beloven vier bijzonder kleurrijke avonden te worden: bij het vallen van de avond kan de bezoeker van het Bright Brussels Festival in een dynamische en ludieke sfeer spelen met licht.
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We also share a Press Release from Visit Brussels with all the relevant information about Bright.Brussels program for the Winter 2016/2017.
Bright Brussels Winter, illuminated pathway that encircles inner Brussels, lights up today
While the sun becomes more and more distant in the final weeks of the year, Brussels allows a fairy-like and unusual atmosphere to envelop parts of the city. At the initiative of the Brussels Ministry of Mobility and Public Works, visit.brussels, with the support of the Brussels-Capital Region and Atrium, coordinates the installation of these large-scale works in the heart of the capital of Europe. A multi-faceted ball, 12-metre tall flowers, giant pocket torches are to be found, among many others… In addition to these works of art placed around the small inner circle, several imposing edifices are taking part in this enlightenment of the Region: the Belfius tower, the P&V tower and the ING Marnix building offer scintillating and colourful projections of light. Whether on foot, by bicycle, public transport or by car, passers by will be able to admire these illuminations.
“The Brussels Region is doing its bit to add some magic to the festive season with a number of stunning light installations all around Brussels. These temporary displays will be lighting up the capital thanks to the support of the government, which is always keen to promote the Region’s image. This beautiful sight will be a real treat for lots of tourists, young and old alike,” enthused Rudi Vervoort, Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region.
“The events of the last year have put Brussels in the news. Today, as we work to enhance the quality of our public spaces, we are investing in improving our Region’s image. The lights around the Small Ring and along the canal provide a great opportunity for locals and visitors to meet. During the darkest days of the year, we will be lighting up our city, and this year, we have decided to put Molenbeek under some welcome spotlights. We wanted to change the atmosphere after a year in which attention has been focused on this particular neighbourhood after the terrorist attacks,” explains Brussels Minister for Mobility and Public Works, Pascal Smet.
Didier Gosuin, Minister of Economy and Employment: “I am thrilled with the installation of these illuminations. They make the business centre of Brussels even more attractive for shoppers and tourists. From now on, visit.brussels is the only operator in charge of this work. Note also that an overall, regional “lighting” plan is being prepared for installation in several phases. It includes year-end lights, a lights festival and the illumination of works of art and edifices. The objective? Boost the image of Brussels and the business of our commercial centre.”
Here is a list of illuminated works and edifices to admire all along the Brussels inner circle.
Place Stéphanie: Tree of Light is a majestic Christmas tree ten metres tall made entirely of LED lights, bringing festivity to the magic of holiday lights.
Place Poelaert: Disco-Light is a giant mirror ball over 5 metres in diameter will take centre stage at the heart of the square, while a light show will cast shimmering light over the neighbouring buildings.
Porte de Namur: Pocket pays tribute to the old French torches (called “pocket lamps” in French). Reimagined on a massive scale, this giant torch plays with proportion, scale and size. Its modern touch can be seen when it lights up, revealing not only the traditional warm white light of torches, but also a kaleidoscope of joyful colours. It lights up the surrounding area with a beam that varies in intensity.
Place du Luxembourg et Square de Meeus: Pix-Light are 12 giant desk lamps bring a hint of fun to these everyday objects from the world of work. Located on the Place du Luxembourg and the Square du Meeus, these multicoloured objects will warm up the Brussels winter.
Rue Royale, Sapin P&V made up of 351 neon lights, an impressive Christmas tree 40 metres wide and 51 metres high lights up the facade of this tower, located along Rue Royale and the Botanical Garden, each and every day.
Boulevard du Jardin Botanique: Botasalon. The Boulevard du Jardin Botanique, an urban highway that can sometimes be a bit austere, was likely in need of warm lighting. This is where Bright Brussels Winter takes centre stage, transforming the boulevard into one long living-room with its warm lamp shades. More than two metres in diameter, these lamp shades exhibit tropical hues and exotic patterns – all that is needed to bring warmth to your heart during the cold winter months.
Place Rogier: Synergie is a lighting concept between the vertical and horizontal, between buildings and streets. It symbolises the crossing of lives that come together in the city. The project resolutely aims to be dynamic, graphical, and contemporary, in order to highlight the architectural aspects of what is being illuminated. It is an interaction of light between three places: the Belfius tower, an altogether imposing edifice that attracts the eyes of passers-by on the Place Rogier, and the strips on the edge of the boulevard. This new layout of the Place Rogier breathes life back into the Belfius tower, an emblem that casts red, purple, and white light, giving new purpose to the public spaces while opening up the passage toward the economic heart of Brussels via Rue Neuve and its shopping centres.
Place Sainctelette: L’Astera is a wild flower, a distant cousin of the thistle found in our countries and that easily reaches over twelve metres in height. An intriguing silvery plant with a bright glimmer during the day, at sunset it transforms into a mesmerizing creature, its heart erupting into a storm of coloured beams of light that illuminate its bristling structure. A night-flower with a curious form of photosynthesis, the Aster blooms at sunset, revealing its splendour as it flares up in a kaleidoscope of dazzling colours.
Quai des charbonnages: Fleur à Souffler is a creation, like a new plant species, that gets its inspiration from the grace and airiness of what some call the “fleur à souffler” (literally, “blow-flower”): the dandelion. The lights are 10 metres high and the flower is 5 metres in diameter. From its luminous calyx, fine, exquisite petals flow outward. The stem that bears the elegant corolla is gently inclined, as though trying to reach out with its flower toward the luminous eyes. Brought together in number, these lights make up a starry bouquet with a soft and warm glow. With two wooden benches just below, as though waiting for an audience, this luminous sculpture also transforms itself into street furniture, bringing a bit of poetry and the sensuality of nature to the urban landscape.
Porte de Flandre: The bridge of the Porte de Flandre is the physical tie between the affluent Rue Antoine Dansaert and the multicultural Chaussée de Gand. As such, it was important to celebrate this crossroads between two populations and the Brussels canal. First, the “Light Canal” is an installation made of four lines of LED lights crossing the water and spawning waves of light 15 metres in the air. In all, 360 coloured tubes bring cheer and festiveness to this liquid link between the city centre and Molenbeek. Then, the Chaussée de Gand also boasts festive lighting to mark the start of this shopping street. Finally, an artistic installation, overlooking the Porte de Flandre, will undoubtedly get spoken about. In order to reinvigorate the pride of the inhabitants and shopkeepers for their municipality, the letters of the name of Molenbeek are created in the same font as the famous Hollywood landmark. Topping a building at the corner of the Chaussée de Gand and the Canal, they will light up by night on certain occasions. This work was realized in collaboration with Frédéric Nicolay.
Place de la Bourse: Impulsion, playground lumineux! Giant see-saws, brimming with light and sound, is installed just at the foot of the Brussels Stock Exchange (La Bourse). Equipped with lights and speakers, the see-saws are activated by sitting down on either side, which triggers melodies that are accompanied by oscillating waves of light. This means that passers-by can produce fleeting, constantly changing original creations. Thanks to the use of architectural lines, their hypnotic sound will create an astonishing impression of depth that will light up the central boulevard. Playing with the notions of balance and imbalance, symmetry and asymmetry, tension and harmony, video projections will represent a visual experience. “Impulsion” is an urban feature that will constantly change with those who visit it. In the time it takes to ride a see-saw, visitors will become musicians playing a novel kind of instrument.
Trône: ING Marnix. An unusual “aurora brusselalis” electrifies the Marnix façade. A rare phenomenon, day and night in Brussels’ small loop “constellation”: bizarre magnetic, electric, and luminous. Finally, in collaboration with Atrium, the regional agency for commerce, the commercial neighbourhoods in the upper part of the city also share the spirit of Christmas with illuminated decorations of all types. They will brighten year-end shopping on the Boulevard de Waterloo, Avenue de la Toison d’Or, Avenue Louise, Chaussée de Charleroi, Place Stéphanie, Goulet Louise, rue Stas and rue Jourdan, as well as at the top of the Chaussée de Gand in Molenbeek.
Marnix, monumental interactive matrix, concept and design by magic monkey, Marc Largent and Daphné Delbeke ©
Finally, in collaboration with Atrium, the regional agency for commerce, the commercial neighbourhoods in the upper part of the city also share the spirit of Christmas with illuminated decorations of all types. They will brighten year-end shopping on the Boulevard de Waterloo, Avenue de la Toison d’Or, Avenue Louise, Chaussée de Charleroi, Place Stéphanie, Goulet Louise, rue Stas and rue Jourdan, as well as at the top of the Chaussée de Gand in Molenbeek.
More information: www.bright.brussels.
Source and info: VisitBrussels