Good afternoon!
As we roll gradually towards the end of Friday, this weekend in Brussels is particularly leisure activity heavy.
If you feel active, then this Sunday is the 45th edition of the Brussels 20 km race. More than 45,000 runners, walkers and people in wheelchairs will descend on the city to participate. The race will start in the Parc de Cinquantenaire with the para-athletes at 09:30, followed by the runners at 10:00 in six waves. Those walking the route will start at 11:30.
From the park, they will make a loop through the south-east of the capital via Schuman, the Palais de Justice, Avenue Louise, Bois de la Cambre, Chaussée de la Hulpe, Parc de Woluwe, Montgomery and Merode back to a new finish area at Cinquantenaire.
If that sounds a bit too energetic, then maybe going to watch other people run around a football pitch is more your thing. Union Saint-Gilloise play their final game of the season against KAA Gent on Sunday – if they win, they will be crowned Belgian champions for the first time since 1935.
They've come close – very close – in the last few seasons, but Belgium's slightly bonkers play-off system has always contrived to deny them at the final hurdle. We will have a preview of the game and speak to some supporters in an article tomorrow in The Brussels Times, so you can be an expert ahead of Sunday's match.
Finally, if even watching others play sport feels too much effort, why not have a look at our guide to the best jazz clubs and bars in Brussels, and choose one to go to this weekend? Or, as this weekend also sees the city hosting the Lotto Brussels Jazz weekend, you could pop along to one of the many free events dotted around the city - we have compiled a guide to the best.
Fun fact of the day: Belgium is, of course, the birthplace of that jazz staple, the Saxophone! (Its inventor, Adolphe Sax, was from Dinant), so it seems only right that we celebrate that. At least for one weekend.
Belgium in Brief is a free daily roundup of the top stories to get you through your coffee break conversations. To receive it straight to your inbox every day, sign up below:
1. ‘Suburbanisation’ – The rich are leaving Belgium’s big cities
Brussels is the only capital city in the study whose core is significantly less wealthy than the surrounding municipalities. Read more.
2. Huawei lobbying scandal: Belgium retracts lifting of one MEP’s immunity
Giusy Princi was among the five MEPs implicated in Belgium's investigation into Huawei's lobbying activities. Read more.
3. No unemployment benefits reform without capital gains tax – Vooruit
"There will be measures that affect everyone or none at all," Vooruit leader Conner Rousseau said. Read more.
4. Brussels police officer involved in fatal accident with scooter did not have valid driving licence
The police officer's driving licence was revoked in 2023, and he was obligated to retake the driving test to get it back. But he never did. Read more.
5. Gaps in the system: thousands of missing children in Europe every year
"Every child who runs away does that for a reason, and behind each of these children is a gap in the child protection system." Read more.
6. KULeuven researchers publish HIV virus disabling breakthrough
Team of researchers at KULeuven have discovered a method to yield the HIV virus permanently harmless on samples in labs. Read more.
7. Best in Town: Jazz clubs in Brussels
Brussels' thriving jazz culture is one of its best-kept secrets. From Nat King Cole to Miles Davis, some of the genre's biggest names have taken to the city’s stages. Read more.
