The 137th Foire du Midi officially opened its doors at 3pm on Saturday afternoon. It is on the boulevard du Midi, and runs for 2km between the Hal and Anderlecht arches. It will finish on Sunday the 20th of August.
There was a ceremony at 1.30pm in Brussels Town hall. A selected few joined a cortege of folklore associations which finished at Manneken Pis. He was dressed in Pierrot’s white and black outfit.
Afterwards, flowers were left at Pierrot forain, a monument on Aviation square on boulevard Poincaré, not far from the Foire du Midi. It was erected in memory of fairground workers who died during the two world wars.
The festive opening started at 3pm, with marching bands and giants putting in an appearance. Representatives from the Molenbeek RWDM football club were present. The Saint-Gilles Union will also be there over the course of the month. The comedian Koby is the patron this year, and actor Kevin Van Doorslaer, also known as “Kevin le forain”, is the mascot.
There are more than 130 attractions open to the public. The new arrival this year is “Outbreak”, a thrilling ride operating in Belgium for the first time. There will also be tastings of Kermesse sauce, a creation by double Michelin starred chef Pierre Wynants. It is a mix of mayonnaise, pickle sauce and spices (including curcuma).
The Foire du Midi gets on average 1.5 million visitors a year. Because the event is so big, security has been reinforced with CCTV cameras, concrete blocks and uniformed and non-uniformed police officers.
(Source: Belga)
