Brussels “will shine brighter than ever” on Saturday 16 May 2026, as the city celebrates the 30th anniversary of Brussels Pride. This milestone edition, organised under the powerful theme ‘When times get darker, we shine brighter‘, is expected to draw around 200,000 people to the capital of Belgium.
Tag: United States
RIGA | Baltā Kaza – Riga Ghetto – Latvian Academy of Sciences
August 2025. We’re travelling to the Baltic States: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and more specifically their respective capitals Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius. Are they interconnected by rail? Yes, but not in the most straightforward or userfriendly way possible. The Rail Baltica project should remedy this. Unsurprisingly though, this megaproject faces political and budgetary hurdles. It…
NETHERLANDS | Rising international visitor numbers, domestic travel showed signs of stagnation in 2025
Tourism in the Netherlands continued to grow in 2025, driven almost entirely by rising international demand, even as domestic travel showed signs of stagnation.
NETHERLANDS | Purple Friday to move to the second Friday of October from 2026
From 2026 onwards, Dutch LGBTQIA+ organisation COC Nederland, in consultation with schools, will move Purple Friday (Paarse Vrijdag) to the beginning of the school year. The annual day of solidarity with LGBTQIA+ students will now take place on the second Friday of October, instead of in December.
European aviation braces for jet fuel shortage amid geopolitical crisis
European airlines and the European Commission are preparing for a potential jet fuel shortage that could ground flights across the continent. The crisis, already causing fuel restrictions in Italy, is raising alarms across Europe, with warnings that a systemic shortage could become a reality if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed.
CURAÇAO | Tourism records for 2025, with 11,500 from Belgium
Curaçao closed 2025 with around 788,000 overnight visitors, TravMagazine reports, representing growth of 13% compared with the previous year. Including cruise passengers and day visitors, total visitor numbers rose to approximately 1.7 million, a year-on-year increase of about 9%.
RED STAR LINE MUSEUM ANTWERP | ‘Drifting Belgians’, the incredible journey of the ghost walkers, until 30 August 2026
Since 1 April 2026, the exhibition ‘Drifting Belgians‘ has been on view at the Red Star Line Museum in Antwerp. In this exhibition, visual artist Mashid Mohadjerin explores the stories of Belgian migrants who, in the 1920s, disguised beneath white sheets, attempted to cross into the United States via Canada.
2025 North Carolina Family Visit: Leland – Wilmington – Southport – Fort Fisher – Saint James
Easter 2025. I’m visiting my uncle and aunt in Leland, North Carolina. It’s my first trip of two to the United States in 2025. I haven’t seen them live since February 2020 just before the first lockdown and I haven’t travelled to this area since 2019. I’m flying with SAS and Delta. The itinerary: Brussels…
Antwerp holds on to ‘Diamond City’ image as global trade continues to contract
Even as Antwerp’s diamond trade suffers one of the most severe downturns in its modern history, the City of Antwerp continues to promote diamonds as a cornerstone of its identity and a key tourist attraction. Through Visit Antwerpen, the city presents itself as the world’s Diamond City, inviting visitors to discover a thriving, prestigious sector…
BELGIUM | Overtourism already an issue… in 1926
Complaints about overcrowding, disruptive visitors and pressure on cities may feel like a distinctly modern problem, associated with places such as Venice in Italy, Barcelona in Spain or Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Yet Belgium experienced remarkably similar tensions a century ago, when a surge in foreign visitors sparked widespread unease among local residents.