Concise.pdf - Brugge Plus

© RANDOALD SABBE
© MARK MORRISROE
Bite (there’s only a bit missing)
44
(“Leg Work”). Benenwerk was a sparkling summer’s night filled with music and dance
at and around eight different stages in all corners and squares of Bruges’ city centre.
A swinging popular festival for thousands of partygoers!
BRUGGE 2002
In co-operation with the city of Bruges a splendid series of new thematic walks was
conceived in 100 stories. These were published under the title The other side of Bruges.
The four walks guide the visitor along mysterious and less well-trodden paths
through the history of Bruges.
Another prominent happening in 2002 was the 22 nd edition of the annual international
Hanseatic Days of Modern Times, which took place in Bruges. It turned into a
major four-day international gathering of the Hanseatic towns with a varied programme
of cultural, tourist and economic activities. Thanks to the dynamic of the
Cultural Capital’s programme it was possible to move away from the traditional way
in which such meetings are viewed.
Party with a capital P
Furthermore there were of course the exclusive and unforgettable festive moments
specific to the one-off title of Cultural Capital of Europe, and among these we can
undoubtedly cite the large-scale opening party and the official closing events.
Meanwhile, the grand finale of the opening week, O-dag, can proudly boast the title
of “biggest and best day in terms of public interest”. On this day 11,539 tickets were
sold and more than thirty different activities were on offer for a public ranging from
toddlers to cultural connoisseurs, and from young tyrants to high-spirited party animals
- all played out in the most bizarre weather conditions. This day was topped off
in the evening with a Japanese Edo fireworks display on ’t Zand.
Another exceptional festive event in 2002 was Cirque Plume, which pitched its tents
at the edge of the city. Almost 10,000 people bought a ticket to see this French
troupe’s magnificent circus show Récréation.
For the closure, the decision was taken to organise a smaller-scale public occasion on
the Burg square. With musical accompaniment, a visual look back at the year on a
large screen and a full glass in everyone’s hand, some 2,500 Bruges residents and
BRUGGE 2002 partners together thus brought the curtain down on the successful cultural
year in the city centre.
The “Events” part of the programme was perhaps not the greatest showcase of
BRUGGE 2002, but many thousands of visitors did find their way to the Cultural
Capital on these occasions, for a day of unforgettable enjoyment. And after all, were
not festive celebration and lightness one of the main themes that were supposed to
shape the programme