Earlier the plan was to visit Brussels in June. I was about to book the ticket too. Somehow by sheer luck I came to know of the Brussels Flower Carpet festival and again by sheer luck, it happens this year!!! Yes, its an event that happens once in 2 years and I was lucky to be in London this year with a Schengen Visa, when it happened. So yeah, I booked the tickets for mid August weekend to see the Flower Carpet with my own eyes!
Grand Place in Brussels is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its a central square surrounded by guildhalls. This square is where the Flower Carpet is laid out. The square is 110m by 68m and the carpet laid at 75m by 24m, its just spectacularly huge with enough walking space on all sides. The first one was laid in 1971 and then in 1976, 79 and 80 and every alternate year since 1986. It always happens in the weekend around August 15th. Mid August is a brilliant time in European weather. Its almost the end of summer, so it isn't very hot and its not raining or windy. The climate is perfect around that time. So the several hours of effort put up in creating the masterpiece isn't destroyed by bad weather! The primary flower used is Begonia Tuberosa. This flower blooms throughout summer and is strong and has a longer life even after plucking it off the plant. So it doesn't get affected whether the temperature raises or falls. Plus this flower blooms is a myriad spectrum of colors, so making a spectacular colorful image out of it isn't a problem at all. The flower is actually a native of West Indies but today Belgium is the world's largest producer of the flower - 60 million bulbs yearly. Every edition signifies something that happened in that 2 years. This edition was to signify the 150 years of Belgo-Japanese friendship. And this year also marked the 20th anniversary of the Flower Carpet. So the design had elements that signify Japan with oriental motifs taken straight from the murals. The central design is a Japanese crane motif with moon & plants that signify life and longevity. On either sides are Bamboo stalks and beyond them are Koi which is a variety of Japanese fish and whole design has scattered cherry blossoms. Also are some trees & wind which are also authentic Japanese motifs. The background is also a fish scale pattern seen and repeated throughout their art history. The designing process takes up the whole 2 years and the flowers (quantity in each color) is calculated and procured and stored quite early since spring season. On the 1st day of the show, about 100 volunteers, gather to actualize the carpet in about 4 hrs! The flowers are so closely packed that the ground doesn't show at all and the whole carpet requires 6,00,000 flowers!!!!! The buildings around it are Gothic architecture and in one portion of it, there's a ticketed access to the balcony to see the whole design in all its glory!!! It costed €5 this year and can be pre-booked. However do be prepared to be patient as the pre-booked queue is very very long and the queue to get the ticket there is very very very very long. The gate opens at 10 AM, but the queuing begins at about 9 AM!!! But that ordeal is totally worth it!!! The next is happening from 16th to 19th August in 2018. Now, go & book your ticket to Brussels!!!
To Get There:
Nearest Metro Station: Gare de Bruxelles-Central
Nearest Tram stop: Bourse
Nearest Bus stops: Beursplein, Plattesteen, Parlement Bruxellois, Gare Centrale
Entry Ticket to Balcony: €5Available to buy online on their website close to the event date.
P.S: I was invited by Visit Brussels - Brussels Card to visit the city for review purpose, however the opinions are my own and this post does not to advertise the product/service.
