A bronze statue of Belgian athlete Ivo Van Damme was unveiled on Monday outside the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels, as the city prepares to host the 50th edition of the Memorial Van Damme meeting.
Brussels Mayor Philippe Close attended the unveiling, alongside sports alderwoman Florence Frelinx, former sprinter and current Memorial Ivo Van Damme director Kim Gevaert, and former director Wilfried Meert.
The statue, created by Jan Desmarets, will be placed at the stadium entrance before each edition of the Memorial Van Damme, the annual athletics meeting held at the venue.
This year’s 50th edition of the meeting is scheduled for 4-5 September. Gevaert said the statue was one of the ways organisers wanted to honour Van Damme during the anniversary edition.
The year 2026 also marks 50 years since the death of the Belgian athlete.
The statue will eventually be installed permanently in the future Sports Park planned for the Heysel Plateau as part of the Neo Project, the construction of a new human, economic, commercial, tourism, cultural, leisure and housing growth pole at the foot of the Atomium.
If Brussels hosts the 2030 European Athletics Championships, the statue will be moved back in front of the stadium.
