It's the start of a new year, and with it comes plenty of cultural activities in the Belgian capital to enjoy. From film festivals to photography, art and ceramics, to music, theatre and folklore, there is something for everyone.
For those new to Brussels or veterans of the city wanting to get the dates in their diaries*, The Brussels Times has created a cultural calendar for 2026, mapping out what's happening in the Belgian capital month by month.
*Most dates for the second half of the year have not yet been released, but we have provided as many as possible.
January
The year promises to get off to a great start with the 11th edition of the iconic Brussels Jazz Festival (15-24 January). Over ten days, jazz will bring Flagey alive in all its facets, with Tunisian pianist Wajdi Riahi as this year's artist-in-residence.
Credit: Flagey
Ceramic Brussels (21-25 January), the first international art fair dedicated to contemporary ceramics, will be held later in the month, followed by BRAFA Art Fair (25 January-1 February) – one of the world's oldest and most prestigious art fairs, famous for its wide range of high-quality fine art, antiques, modern and contemporary art and design.
The tenth anniversary of the month-long PhotoBrussels Festival (22 January-22 February) and 'En Ville!' film festival (26 January-1 February) will also take place.
The inherently British tradition of pantomime will round off the month with the English Comedy Club's 'Puss in Boots' (30 January-1 February), promising a two-hour performance packed with a punch and the perfect family-friendly weekend activity.
February
February brings the beloved Bright Brussels Festival (12-15 February), lighting up the Belgian capital with various installations and transforming it into a magical fairyland.
The Affordable Art Fair (4-8 February) will return for its 17th edition, featuring 1000s of contemporary artworks from over 85 Belgian and international galleries and promising something for every space, taste and budget.
Bright Festival 2025. Credit: visit.brussels / Mathieu Golinvaux
'It Takes a City' (5-14 February) will offer the very best of Brussels' performing arts scene, while Anima Festival (20 February-1 March), the only festival to screen exclusively animated films in Belgium, will celebrate its 45th year.
Bozar's 'Bellezza e Bruttezza' exhibition (20 February-14 June) will also begin, exploring how artists from Italy and Northern Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries depicted beauty and ugliness, from refined ideals to deliberate grotesques.
March
Three of Brussels' best music venues – Theatre Marni, Jazz Station and Le Senghor – will host 16 concerts and exhibitions for the annual River Jazz Festival (13-28 March).
For architecture aficionados, the Brussels Art Nouveau and Art Deco festival BANAD (14-29 March) will once again give visitors access to buildings usually closed to the public, while music lovers can enjoy classical masterpieces, jazz and contemporary creations at several iconic venues during Klarafestival (20-29 March).
Credit: Bozar / Klarafestival
'Millenium Documentary Film Festival' (26 March-3 April) will also be back on Brussels' screens, presenting international documentaries that tackle sustainable development targets, addressing global issues from an artistic perspective, as will Offscreen Film Festival (11-29 March), dedicated to independent and experimental cinema.
April
With the start of spring comes warmer weather, sunnier skies and tulip season! And the best way to admire the colourful flowers is undoubtedly at Floralia Brussels (3 April-3 May), which boasts over one million tulips and countless other spring blooms this time of year.
Credit: Floralia Brussels
During this same period, make sure you see the stunning Hallerbos hyacinths on the outskirts of Brussels, which turn the forest into a beautiful blanket of blue.
The Hallerbos in Halle, renowned for it's bluebells. Credit: Belga / Nicolas Maeterlinck
Also in April is Scéal Eile, the festival committed to screening the best of Irish cinema in Belgium; the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival (3-18 April), offering fantasy, horror, science fiction, thrillers, dark comedies, and the bloody Vampire Ball; and the Brussels Short Film Festival (22 April-2 May) with hundreds of screenings.
May
One of the more unusual events on the cultural calendar is the Brussels Porn Film Festival, which will be back at the start of May for its fifth edition. The event opens up a dialogue around norms of desire, gender equality and sexuality, and always arouses plenty of interest.
The Brussels Renaissance Festival (17 May-4 July) will offer a variety of events that showcase European heritage and history during the Renaissance, culminating in Ommegang (1 and 3 July), while the biennial Zinneke Parade (30 May) will bring the city's streets alive.
Credit: Lotto Brussels Jazz Weekend
May also features Europe's biggest free jazz festival, Lotto Brussels Jazz Weekend (22-24 May), filling every corner of the historic city with swing, soul, blues, hip-hop and bebop, and Les Nuits Botanique (14-31 May), a firm favourite among locals, which has already released some big names for 2026.
June
As well as the start of the brocante and summer festival season, June is the month of Fête de la Musique (18-21 June), which floods Brussels and Wallonia with hundreds of free concerts and events for four days.
Credit: Fête de la Musique / Bernard Babette
The beautiful, historic Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert and Théâtre Royal des Galeries will provide the stage for the annual 'Midsummer Mozartiade' festival, while Festival Musiq3 (25-28 June) will bring together both emerging and established artists from the Belgian and international classical, jazz and electro scenes with plenty of impressive concerts and performances.
July
In the first week of July, Ommegang will arrive on Grand Place, marking the end of the Renaissance Festival.
Bruxelles fait son Cinéma (first two weeks of July) will once again treat audiences to free open-air screenings in the capital's 19 communes, transforming sometimes little-known locations into ephemeral cinemas.
Credit: Laureline Baron/Bruxelles fait son cinéma
To mark Belgium's National Day on 21 July, there are also always plenty of activities to enjoy, such as fireworks, free concerts, a military parade, and the pop-up Resto National, where you can devour moules-frites on long tables next to your neighbours.
Credit: Bruxelles Zingt
Les Escales Estivales offers weekly concerts throughout the summer in Anderlecht's cultural centre, while the urban jazz festival Brosella has been holding outdoor concerts in picturesque surroundings in Brussels since 1977.
Located in the magical green haven of Château du Karreveld, the unique 'Bruxellons!' festival has run throughout summer for the past 25 years, showcasing the diversity of French-speaking Belgian performing arts and introducing musicals such as 'My Fair Lady' and 'West Side Story' to Belgium.
August
August is always quiet in the capital, but Brussels' UNESCO-recognised Foire du Midi will return for its 146th edition. The world-famous biennial Brussels Flower Carpet (14-17 August) will also adorn the Grand Place once again, decorating the cobblestones with flowers in all shapes and colours for several days.
The 2024 motif of the flower carpet. Credit: The Brussels Times
The planting of the Meyboom (Tree of Joy) is one of Brussels' many folkloric traditions, which takes place on 9 August every year and is a calendar highlight. The classical music festival Classissimo is also held at Théâtre Royal du Parc each August, hosting established artists as well as emerging talents.
September
Back to school! One of the key events in September is Brussels Art Week, which celebrates the richness and variety of the contemporary art scene in the capital. BD Comic Strip Festival, another staple of Brussels' annual events calendar, will also be back with dozens of exhibitors, talks, signing sessions, children's games and activities, exhibitions and workshops.
Folklorissimo (19-20 September) celebrates Brussels' rich history and heritage in the historic city centre, and features giant puppets, brass bands and a crossbow shooting competition. It usually coincides with Car-Free Sunday – the day when cars are banned from the city's streets and public transport is free, so people can experience city life in an entirely different way.
Belgium's Senate on car-free Sunday in 2022. Credit: Orlando Whitehead
The three-day Belgian Beer Weekend festival takes place on the Grand Place on the first weekend of September, followed by BBP's Wanderlust craft beer festival in Sainte-Catherine later in the month.
Saint-Jazz Festival celebrates the best names on the Belgian jazz scene each year, while Marni Jazz Festival offers an eclectic array of jazz, rock, classical and electronic music concerts.
Brussels International Film Festival (4-12 September) will also offer a packed programme of screenings, ranging from new features to classics.
October
For one night and one night only each year, dozens of Brussels' museums keep their doors open late into the evening for Museum Night Fever (17 October), laying on an impressive programme with concerts, craft workshops, behind-the-scenes tours and more.
Museum Night Fever at the Museum of Natural Sciences in 2011. Credit: Museum Night Fever
Through an eclectic programme of debates, film screenings and concerts – many of which are free – the Festival des Libertés examines the state of human rights and fundamental freedoms through investigative filmmaking that transcends borders and cultures.
November
Brussels' cafés-théâtres will take centre stage throughout November for the 'Bruxelles sur Scènes' festival with over 100 performances of stand-up, jazz, theatre and song across 13 venues.
Credit: Bruxelles sur Scènes
The LGBTQ+ Pink Screens film festival is also held in early November, celebrating queer cinema and culture, while Coudenberg Sound Box Fest holds double concerts across four consecutive Sundays in the cellars of a former Brussels Palace.
The Brussels International Guitar Festival & Competitions – the only one of its kind in the capital – is always held at the end of the month, while the CinemaMed Film Festival will be held late November/early December, putting Mediterranean stories and issues in the spotlight, with insightful meetings and debates after each screening.
December
The month of Christmas markets and carol concerts! As every year, Winter Wonders will run from the final weekend of November until early January.
General view from the ferris wheel at Winter Wonders, Tuesday 20 December 2016. Credit: Belga / Hatim Kaghat
Circus Alexandre Bouglione will hold its annual show on Place Flagey, from mid-December to the first week of January, delivering circus magic to young and old.
