It is time to put Belgium on the map not only as a country of chocolate and beer, but also as a country of events. Belgians are proud of their events, find it increasingly important to be able to attend events and hope that our new government will put events more on the map in the coming years. That is what the results of the quarterly surveys by the confederation representing the Belgian event sector teach. The July 2024 survey conducted by Event Confederation in collaboration with iVOX among a representative sample of 1,000 Belgians also shows that event visitors are more confident of a positive future than non-visitors.
Flemish people want to enjoy, Brussels people want to meet
46% of Flemings visited one or more events in the past year, 42% of Brussels residents and 25% of Walloons. It is striking that enjoyment is the main reason for visiting events for Belgians (26%), and even more so for Flemish event visitors (30%). For 8% of Belgian visitors, meeting is the main reason to visit events, whereas it is the main reason for 20% of Brussels visitors.
From expensive to more accessible events
What is also striking is that 16% of Belgians who did not attend events last year indicate as the main reason that they find events too expensive. 79% of Belgians therefore hope that our new government will take action in the coming years to make events more accessible for everyone. 50% of Belgians and 76% of Brussels residents even hope that our new government will create more opportunities for the event sector in Brussels as well.
‘Keeping events accessible to the general public not only requires ensuring that costs and thus prices do not skyrocket, but also investing in local infrastructure. Especially in our (European) capital, investments are urgently needed if we want to reposition our country as an (event) destination,’ stresses Christine Merckx of Event Confederation. ‘For example, the government urgently needs to invest in the renovation of Brussels Expo, the Cinquantenaire Park and the King Baudouin Stadium, but also in public transport, hotel capacity and restaurants. From our survey, we know that 2 out of 3 Belgians hope that our new government will think less in pigeonholes in the coming legislature, including in terms of event policy. A holistic approach is crucial.’
Raise the profile of Belgium’s event sector
70% of Belgians hope to see action from the new government in the coming years to raise the profile of events. More so than Flemings, French-speaking Belgians in particular (around 7 in 10) hope that our new government will take action to make Belgium an internationally renowned events country, and that they will support the events sector and entrepreneurs in the sector more.
‘We believe the government can make more balanced choices to give local entrepreneurs better opportunities. Too often we still see services and opportunities being offered that are not accessible to our entrepreneurs. Almost 6 in 10 Belgians therefore hope that the new government will leave organising events more to the professional sector. We not only need to catch up in terms of infrastructure (state of the art, sustainable, accessible, etc.), but also in terms of size (in capacity) of future needs and of our entrepreneurs. Only then will we be able to attract and keep important events and players in our country. And that is also important for other sectors. For example, a flourishing event sector creates a lot of social and economic spin-offs, certainly for the hospitality sector in our country,’ says the Event Confederation manager.
