The Nocturne des Coteaux de la Citadelle returns to Liège in 2024 after a four-year absence, the city's tourism official, Jean-Pierre Hupkens, said on Monday at a meeting of its city council.
The Nocturne, traditionally one of the most anticipated events in the Ardent City, is organised each year on the first Saturday of October. However, it was cancelled from 2020 to 2023, initially because of the Covid-19 pandemic, then due to tram construction works in 2022 and 2023.
With construction soon to end, municipal councillor Fabrice Drèze asked if the municipality was thinking of reinstating the event.
Jean-Pierre Hupkens replied in the affirmative, saying the city council intended to bring back the Nocturne to illuminate Liège’s historic downtown area.
The event, which usually attracts thousands of visitors, is slated to return on the first weekend of October in an expanded format.
The traditional candles are expected to return to the Bueren Mountain and will be complemented by lighting fixtures within an area yet to be determined. “We must consider safety conditions imposed by the large turnout, particularly relating to access to dead ends and steep paths,” Hupkens explained.
He added that the event would be part of a broader range of entertainment in downtown Liège, including nocturnes for weddings, a customer weekend, a special edition of La Batte market, and the opening of the fair.
