2024: Belgium’s year in headlines
Elections, protests and a remarkable summer of sport: we take a look back at the top stories of the past 12 months in Belgium.
January
Star cyclist Lotte Kopecky kicked off the year in sensational style, winning two gold medals in less than 20 minutes at the European Track Cycling Championships, while Brussels announced an innovation in tourism on the Grand Place: two electric carriages would replace the traditional horse-drawn wagons.
January also saw the start of Belgium’s presidency of the EU. As well as chairing discussions on issues such as expansion, climate and the elections, the country hosted a series of events to showcase its culture and history.
February
Farmers continued to protest in 2024, blocking roads in and around Brussels with hundreds of tractors as they demonstrated against stricter regulations. In Zeebrugge, truckers were unable to access the port due to blockades.
Problems in Belgium’s manufacturing industry were a hallmark of this year, with continued uncertainty over the future of Audi and layoffs at Callebaut.
March
Bus manufacturer Van Hool announced it was cutting more than 1,000 jobs, the largest layoff in the private sector since 2018. The company was later acquired by the Dutch VDL Groep, saving 250 jobs.
"We have said from day one that we will do everything possible to enable a relaunch under the conditions that have been set"
Far-right activist Dries Van Langenhove was sentenced to one year in prison for violating the racism and negationism law, and the former bishop of Bruges Roger Vangheluwe was dismissed from the clerical state. Vangheluwe resigned in 2010 after admitting to sexually abusing his nephew.
April
Conner Rousseau returned to politics, having stepped down as leader of Flemish socialists Vooruit last year over racist and sexist comments he made to police at a bar. A conference of prominent far-right politicians in Brussels, including Viktor Orban and Nigel Farage, was controversially shut down by the local mayor, ostensibly on security grounds.
Meanwhile, a huge collection of previously unheard music by Marvin Gaye was uncovered at his former home in Ostend.
May
Prime minister Alexander De Croo filed a complaint against a local radio host who told listeners to go ahead if they had plans to shoot him. Radio station Waregem1 suspended the man, who made the statement after a news item about the shooting of Slovak prime minister Robert Fico.
A court in Bruges ordered a gynaecologist to take part in a comparative DNA test after allegations that he used his own sperm in an artificial insemination.
In culture, the Flemish film Julie zwijgt (Julie Keeps Quiet) won two awards at the Cannes Film Festival and was named as Belgium’s entry for the Oscars.
June
For months, students across the country occupied university buildings in protest at the bombardment of Gaza, calling on their institutions to halt academic cooperation with Israeli universities.
Voters in Belgium went to the polls to elect members of the European, federal and regional parliaments. East Belgium was the first to return a government, followed by Wallonia. The picture in Brussels was more complicated.
In sport, Belgium endured a disappointing Euro 2024, losing to Slovenia and drawing with Ukraine before being knocked out by France. The opera world paid tribute to soprano Jodie Devos, who died of cancer at the age of 35, while renowned fashion designer Dries Van Noten retired after 40 years.
Finally, relatives of the victims of the notorious Brabant Killers gang were told that the investigation into the series of deadly robberies in the 1980s was being closed. “If they haven’t found [the truth] after 40 years, it’s because they haven’t looked in the right direction,” one said. “The truth exists somewhere.”
July
The war in Gaza continued to dominate the news. In July, four young cancer patients were evacuated to Belgium for treatment and it was established that Belgium had the most Palestinian asylum seekers of any EU country. Meanwhile, a study showed that seven out of 10 Jews in Belgium hide their identity at least occasionally because they do not feel safe.
Belgium’s federal police announced an investigation into the possible misuse of European funds by Flemish MEP Tom Vandendriessche in July. His staff were allegedly instructed to carry out party political work that had nothing to do with the EU.
In sport, Remco Evenepoel finished third in the general qualification of his first Tour de France, becoming the first Belgian on the podium since Jurgen Van den Broeck in 2010.
August
This month’s headlines were dominated by the Paris Olympics. Belgium took 165 athletes to the Games and came home with 10 medals, including two golds for cyclist Remco Evenepoel and a remarkable third consecutive gold for heptathlete Nafi Thiam. She was joined on the podium by teammate Noor Vidts, who took bronze.
Remco Evenepoel, Noor Vidts and Nafi Thiam greet fans in Brussels © BELGA VIDEO MAARTEN WEYNANTS
September
Team Belgium’s Paralympians also enjoyed a successful summer, winning 14 medals in several disciplines. The returning athletes were greeted by fans at a ceremony in Brussels.
Two months after the elections, Flanders installed its government, with Matthias Diependaele of N-VA the new minister president. Meanwhile, Hadja Lahbib was named Belgium’s European Commissioner, taking on the portfolio of Crisis Management, Humanitarian Aid and Equality.
Pope Francis’ first visit to Belgium since 1995 was shrouded in controversy, after he described Belgium’s abortion law as “murderous” and the doctors performing the procedure as “contract killers”. The visit - to mark the 600th anniversary of the University of Leuven - had already been overshadowed by criticism of the Church’s response to allegations of sexual abuse by clergy.
October
October saw the return of voters to the polls, this time to elect municipal councils. Ninove in East Flanders returned a far-right council, as Forza Ninove, part of Vlaams Belang, secured an absolute majority. An investigation was later launched over allegations of voting fraud.
Following negotiations in two other Flemish municipalities, the cordon sanitaire – an agreement by political parties not to enter coalitions with the far-right – was broken for the first time.
In the courts, there was a verdict in one of Belgium’s largest criminal trials. Major players in the Sky ECC case – centred on a large-scale drug trafficking network exposed through intercepted communications on an encrypted messaging platform – were jailed for up to 17 years.
November
November saw fresh protests from farmers against the EU’s proposed trade deal with the Mercosur bloc in South America. Europe’s agriculture sector fears unfair competition and a lowering of food standards. The deal was finalised in early December, but member states must still ratify it, with France among those opposed.
In New York, René Magritte’s iconic painting l’Empire des lumières fetched more than 114 million euros at auction, setting a new record for any surrealist artwork sold at auction.
And a total of more than 18 million euros was awarded to victims of the terrorist attacks of 22 March 2016. The bombings at Brussels Airport and Maelbeek metro station killed 32 people and injured about 350.
December
Researchers working on the restoration of the iconic Ghent Altarpiece by the Van Eyck brothers uncovered extensive 16th-century overpaintings on the upper interior panels. Previous stages of the restoration have proved controversial. The revelation of the original central lamb provoked mixed reactions from art enthusiasts, who were “shocked” by its appearance.
In the courts, former radio presenter Sven Pichal was sentenced to a three-year suspended prison term for possessing and distributing images of child abuse. An investigation was opened into former Belgian Finance minister and European Commissioner Didier Reynders, following allegations of money laundering.
Finally, December saw two notable new arrivals: a baby chimpanzee at Antwerp Zoo, the first in more than 30 years, and a fourth telecoms provider, Digi, which had an immediate impact on share prices and customer offers among the three existing providers.
#FlandersNewsService | Medal winners Noor Vidts, Nafi Thiam, Gabriella Willems, Sarah Chaari, Fabio Van den Bossche, Remco Evenepoel and Bashir Abdi on the balcony of Brussels City Hall after the Paris Olympic Games, 12 August 2024 (c) BELGA PHOTO ERIC LALMAND
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