Olympics: Team Belgium athletes honoured on Grand Place in Brussels
Team Belgium's Olympic athletes were honoured on Monday at the Grand Place in Brussels, in front of a crowd of 5,000 fans. Among the celebrated athletes were Nafi Thiam, Remco Evenepoel, the women's basketball and hockey teams, Gabriella Willems and Fabio Van den Bossche.
The athletes arrived at Brussels Midi from Paris at around 15.00 and went to the City Hall, where they were welcomed by the alderman for sports, Benoit Hellings, and the mayor of Brussels, Philippe Close.
© BELGA VIDEO MAARTEN WEYNANTS
By 16.00, the Grand Place was already busy with fans who had braved the heat to honour their heroes. Robert Van Impe, better known as influencer and YouTuber Average Rob, began entertaining the crowd at 16.30.
The ceremony began at 17.00, with athletes waving to the crowd from the balcony of the City Hall. Basketball player Julie Vanloo described the ceremony as "super fun" but admitted she would have preferred to wave to the audience "with a medal in her hands". The team finished fourth in the competition, narrowly losing the minor final to Australia.
Reflecting on her previous appearance on the same balcony after the Belgian Cats won the European Championship in 2023, she said: "It's the second time we've been here. That shows that Belgium is very sporty and fully supports us." After weeks of intense competition, she joked, "I'm going to eat fries."
Gymnast Nina Derwael, who also narrowly missed out on a medal, shared her excitement, saying, "It's great to come here after the closing ceremony and be welcomed so warmly. That's always a special feeling."
Marathon runner Bashir Abdi, who won silver in his event, called the ceremony "fantastic". He said there had been strong support from Belgian fans: "We definitely felt the home crowd during the Games in Paris. It's very special to come here and celebrate together."
Medal winners Noor Vidts, Nafi Thiam, Gabriella Willems, Sarah Chaari, Fabio Van den Bossche, Remco Evenepoel and Bashir Abdi on the balcony of the City Hall during celebrations after the Paris 2024 Olympics, at the Grand Place © BELGA PHOTO ERIC LALMAND
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