The Brussels Times Magazine selects the best current and upcoming events and exhibitions this summer.
SUMMER FESTIVALS
June 27-29, 2025
Over 80 artists spanning many genres will gather in Heysel under the banner of world music for the 2025 edition of Couleur Café. Little Simz, Denzel Curry and Omar Lay are some of the acts that will take the stage with the Atomium as the backdrop.
June 30-July 1, August 14, 2025
Not so much a festival, but three seasoned artists performing in front of the palace. Veteran rocker Neil Young will rasp his set on June 30, followed the next night by French synth giant Jean-Michel Jarre, while on August 14, it is electro pioneers Kraftwerk.
July 3-6, 2025
This annual rock music festival has been taking place near Leuven since 1976, drawing over 100,000 attendees over four days. This year’s headliners include Olivia Rodrigo, Linkin Park, Green Day, Gracie Abrams (who also plays at Forest National in Brussels on June 23), Underworld, Soulwax and Simple Minds, who first performed there four decades ago.
Couleur Café music festival in Brussels, Friday 24 June 2022. Credit: Belga / Hatim Kaghat
July 4-6, 2025
This urban jazz festival in Molenbeek features an international lineup, from Salif Keïta to Gabriel Ríos and Beverly Jo Scot. Brosella has been holding outdoor concerts in picturesque surroundings in Brussels since 1977.
July 3-6, 2025
Four-day electro-rock festival Les Ardentes is relatively new to the Belgian music festival scene, debuting in Liège in 2006. It attracts more and more music fans each year, and the 2025 edition includes J Balvin, David Guetta, Gims, and Damso.
July 18-20 and July 25-27, 2025
Held in Boom, near Antwerp, since 2006, Tomorrowland is one of the most celebrated musical festivals in the world. The list of artists is massive and features some promising and lesser-known names: the line-up for this year includes Amelie Lens, Anyma, Charlotte de Witte, Martin Garrix, Swedish House Mafia, ANNA, Job Jobse and lots more.
August 14-17, 2025
Pukkelpop is one of Belgium’s biggest musical festivals, held amid the forests just outside of Hasselt, attracting upwards of 200,000 fans of all sorts of music, from dance and pop to metal and rap. The 2025 lineup includes Chappell Roan, Queens of the Stone Age, A$AP Rocky, Chase & Status, Oscar and the Wolf, Jamie xx, Michael Kiwanuka and Pommelien.
July 4-19, 2025
Gent Jazz might sound like a niche festival, but for over a fortnight, it attracts some top-notch names, even if it stretches the strict definition of jazz itself. So, Herbie Hancock, the Roots, Max Richter and Baloji fit the description, but are Massive Attack, Bonnie Raitt, St. Vincent and Leon Bridges jazz? Not that it should bother fans.
OTHER MUSIC
Sparks band
Cirque Royale, Rue de l'Enseignement 81, 1000 Brussels
June 28, 2025
Ron and Russell, the so-called Sparks brothers, have been pushing the boundaries of music and spectacle since they formed in Los Angeles in 1971. Recently the subject of an Edgar Wright movie, the influential duo remains a mesmerising stage act.
Sportpaleis, Schijnpoortweg 119, 2170 Antwerp
July 1, 2025
The Australian sex thimble has been part of our musical lives since she shifted from a bit part in the Neighbours soap to belting out hypnotic bubble-gum pop in the late 1980s. Her recent music is more sophisticated, but she includes her old faves in her tour.
July 9, 20925
Sportpaleis, Schijnpoortweg 119, 2170 Antwerp
He may have lost some lustre after coming second-best in his beef with Kendrick Lamar, but he is still a box office draw – and this year was recognised for receiving the most RIAA Diamond Certifications of any artist ever.
Drake performing in Toronto during the Summer Sixteen Tour.
STAR WARS: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK IN CONCERT
September 18, 2025
Flagey, Place Sainte-Croix, 1050 Ixelles
The Brussels Philharmonic will perform John Williams’ Grammy-winning score of the 1980 The Empire Strikes Back (which many Star Wars purists say is the best in the series) as the movie itself plays on the screen. It will be led by maestro Dirk Brossé, who was chosen by Williams himself as principal conductor for the Star Wars in Concert World Tour in 2010.
Various dates
Concert Noble, Rue d’Arlon 84, 1040 Brussels
The Candlelight concept aims to adapt classical music concerts to younger audiences by diversifying offerings - and all in a lush setting with, of course, lots of candlelight. At the Concert Noble and the Planetarium of the Royal Observatory, its programme includes Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, Adele, Abba, Queen, Hans Zimmer and Bridgerton.
ART EXHIBITIONS
Steven McCurry's famous photograph of Afghan girl Sharbat Gula
Tour & Taxis, Shed 4b, Avenue du Port 86C, 1000 Brussels
Until November 11, 2025
French-Brazilian Sebastião Salgado is arguably the world’s most celebrated nature photographer, whose black-and-white images of animals in barren landscapes suggest a pre-historic era. This exhibition features over 200 large-format photographs revealing the richness of the Amazon rainforest and the people who live there. It is accompanied by a soundtrack that was specially created by Jean-Michel Jarre.
Grand Place 5, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
Until September 9, 2025
You may not know the name, but you have probably seen some of Steve McCurry’s photographs, like his haunting portrait of Afghan girl Sharbat Gula, which graced the cover of National Geographic in 1985. His retrospective exhibition at the Grand Place features over 100 large-format photographs from his 40-year career, and recent works.
Bozar Center for Fine Arts, Rue Ravenstein 23, 1000 Brussels
Until August 10, 2025
Have Black and African artists been poorly recognised in the past? Inspired by director Ava DuVernay's television series When They See Us, this Bozar exhibition explores Black self-representation through some 150 works by 120 artists.
Compassion at MAS Museum in Antwerp until 31 August
MAS Museum, Hanzestedenplaats 1, 2000 Antwerp
Until August 31, 2025
MAS has collected contemporary art by Ai Weiwei, Berlinde De Bruyckere and Stephan Vanfleteren in an exhibition designed to make visitors reflect on the more difficult questions about the theme of compassion.
WAIT AND SEE. MITJA TUŠEK & BERTILLE BAK
Centrale, Place Sainte-Catherine 45,1000 Brussels
Until August 24, 2025
An exhibition that the curator says explores the tension between patience and action, blending art, installation, and thought-provoking narratives to engage visitors.
HANS OP DE BEECK: NOCTURNAL JOURNEY
KMSKA, Leopold de Waelplaats 1, 2000 Antwerpen
Until August 17, 2025
Visual artist Hans Op de Beeck has created a deserted nocturnal park peopled by life-size sculptures in flattening grey, black and white, making them seem hushed and frozen in time as if petrified or covered under a layer of dust.
MAGICAL REALISM: IMAGINING NATURAL DIS/ORDER
WIELS, Avenue Van Volxem 354, 1190 Forest
Until September 28, 2025
Some 30 artists examine the issue of planetary shifts and ecological challenges in this exhibition. It looks at the porosity between ‘magic’ and ‘reality' for new horizons to emerge in response to proliferating monocultures, precarious lives, and climate transformation.
Reporters without Borders exhibition at Hangar 26 June to 13 July 2025
Museum PARCUM, Park Abbey, Abdij van Park 7, 3001 Leuven
Until November 9, 2025
There is, according to the curators of this exhibition, an “age-old human longing for transcendence through the lens of both medieval mysticism and contemporary art.” It features works by Marina Abramović, Jeremy Shaw, Laure Prouvost and others “to reflect on how mystical and modern paths toward ecstasy may still echo one another.”
Hangar, 18 Place du Châtelain, 1050 Brussels,
June 26 to July 13, 2025
Reporters sans frontières (Reporters Without Borders), is a Paris-based NGO focused on safeguarding the right to freedom of information. On the eve of its 40th anniversary, this exhibition showcases the perspectives of 40 photojournalists from diverse backgrounds, looking at themes like the environment, exile, war and crisis.
CULTURE
The Ommegang parade in 2023. Credit: Belga/Jonas Roosens
OMMEGANG AND THE BRUSSELS RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL
Various events of differing locations and times
Until July 4, 2025
The 2025 edition of the Brussels Renaissance Festival includes processions and performances harking back to the time when Charles V ruled over much of Europe. Ommegang, on July 2 and 4, involves 1,400 costumed participants recreating the aura of Brussels, when the Holy Roman Emperor himself called it home.
Château du Karreveld, Ave Jean de la Hoese 32, 1080 Molenbeek-Saint-Jean
From July 9 to September 27, 2025
The 27th edition of the Festival Bruxellons features around 100 performances of 12 musical theatre shows, including the world premiere in French of Rebecca (inspired by Daphne Du Maurier's novel and Alfred Hitchcock's film) and Goodbye Norma Jeane, a tender dive into the life of Marilyn Monroe.
BRIGITTINES INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL
Les Brigittines, Petite rue des Brigittines, 1000 Brussels
August 14-30, 2025
A programme of “contemporary performances: innovative languages, bizarre universes, strange and original forms that speak to the imagination,” according to the organisers of their various music and dance shows.
Markt, 8000 Bruges
July 1-11, 2025
This summer, the Belfry in Markt – or the Market Square – will be the canvas for a free light show twice a night that tells you the story of the city, from the past to the present.
Villa Empain. Credit: visit.brussels - Jean-Paul Remy - 2017
Various locations
September 13-14, 2025
A European initiative, enthusiastically embraced by Belgium, where the regions open the doors of key buildings over a weekend. For the Brussels region, the theme this year is Art Deco, reflecting the centenary of the style. Art Deco is also the theme in Flanders, while in Wallonia, it is “terroir”.
Grand Place, 1000 Brussels
September 5-7, 2025
Belgium excels in beer and this festival is a celebration of the country’s creations, with a chance to sample the lesser-known krieks, gueuzes, witbiers, bruins, saisons, dubbels, tripels and others.
Design Museum, Place de Belgique 1, 1020 Laeken
Until September 14, 2025
The exhibition explores the development of skateboard design over seven decades, focusing on the technological, performative and aesthetic evolution of the skateboard. Curated by industrial designer and skater Jonathan Olivares, charts this evolution through an extensive collection of decks, trucks and wheels.
PRESENCE OF THE PAST: A EUROPEAN ALBUM
House of European History, Park Leopold, Rue Belliard 135, 1000 Brussels
Until January 11, 2026
How do Europeans engage with the past in their everyday lives? This exhibition of photographs from across Europe looks at the ways history and heritage are integrated into our modern worlds.
Brussels Expo, Palace 1, Avenue impératice Charlotte, 1020 Laeken
Until July 13, 2025
Want to swim with Nemo, cook with Remy the rat or blast into infinity and beyond with Buzz Lightyear? Then the Mundo Pixar Experience is for you: an immersive exhibition that recreates life-size scenes from these animation classics.
Brussels Beer Weekend
FÊTES ET CÉLÉBRATIONS FLAMANDES, LILLE
Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille, Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille
Until September 1, 2025
The exhibition will explore the meanings of imagery in Flemish festivals in the 16th and 17th centuries, from urban festivals to fairs and kings' festivals. Representations such as fairgrounds and the Feast of Kings are pictorial genres in their own right, appreciated far beyond borders.
AROUND ART DECO. INTERBELLUM SCULPTURES
Van Buuren Museum & Gardens, Ave Léo Errera, 41, 1180 Brussels
Until September 28, .2025
The beautiful van Buuren house and gardens are worth a visit anyway but they include an exhibition of interwar sculptures, artfully scattered around the premises.
Fashion & Lace Museum, Rue de la Violette 12, 1000 Brussels
Until January 11, 2026
Conceived in the Dansaert district of Brussels in the 1980s, a handful of Belgian designers – led by Sonja Noël is with her STIJL boutique - began opening stores that set a new tone for fashion wear. This exhibition chronicles their influence through 68 silhouettes created by 46 designers.
SCIENCE
Immersive exhibition 'Jules Verne 200'
Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Rue Vautier 29, 1000 Brussels
Until August 31, 2025
Combining the natural sciences with philosophy, anthropology and poetry, this insightful exhibition explores the concept of ‘wild’ and will awaken your curiosity and critical thinking. Visitors can learn more about Belgian wildlife, the history of the domestication of wolves and various other animals and enjoy films, scientific collections and more.
Brussels Expo, Palais 2, Place de la Belgique 1, 1020 Brussels
Until August 31, 2025
Billing itself as the world’s largest dino expo, with some 55 animated creatures from prehistory, this interactive show –coinciding with the latest Jurassic World movie – promises to take visitors back millions of years.
Horta Gallery, Rue du Marché Aux Herbes 116, 1000 Brussels
Until September 6, 2025
French author Jules Verne conjured spectacular worlds in the 19th century, and many of his imaginative adventures – Journey to the Centre of the Earth. Around the World in 80 Days, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea – still inspire. This immersive exhibition relives his steampunk stories.
Colour seeing beyond pigment exhibition in Hasselt until 23 August 2025
Musée L, Place des Sciences 3, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve
Until February 22, 2026
The Musée L is as eclectic a museum as you will find. It showcases items from the archives of the University of Louvain – whose French-speaking section is located in Louvain-la-Neuve – ranging from ancient manuscripts to stuffed animals. This special exhibition celebrates 600 years since the university’s founding.
Z33, Hasselt, Bonnefantenstraat 1, 3500 Hasselt
Until August 23, 2025
Colour is everywhere - in our food, our clothes, all around our urban environment – yet few stop to consider where pigments come from, or at what cost. This exhibition brings together scientists, designers and artists to explore more sustainable, nature-inspired alternatives, with a focus on melanin.
