Flanders today decEMBER 24 2008
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N°61
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I N DE P E N DE N T N E W S W e e k l y
The Bruges Issue i
Shop! p.6
www . f l a n d e rst o d a y . E U
Fire and ice
Erkenningsnummer P708816
Bruges puts some bite in its old-world image Lisa Bradshaw t first we thought it was our imagination. But the news just kept trickling out of Bruges with such regularity that we finally had to admit: it was a phenomenon. Bruges – the little mediaeval city famous for its old, stony architecture, its tiny cobblestoned lanes, its horse-drawn carriages, its history of lacemaking – is changing its image. Rather than trying to avoid the hundreds of thousands of British and American tourists that pack the place year round to revel in its unyielding “charm”, we suddenly felt jealous of what they were getting, what we – with our noses in Brussels and Antwerp and Ghent – were missing. Bruges has become cool. The capital of West Flanders has always seemed a bit stodgy to the rest of Belgium – a tourist trap by day that shuts down at 19.00 like an old man with a nightcap climbing into his four-poster bed. And while the city’s stalwarts, such as the belfry or the chocolate museum, are certainly still in place, the avant-garde art, politics and design creeping in around
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them is giving Bruges a contemporary buzz it has never felt before. The last few months alone are proof. The recent multi-disciplinary festival called “The Messenger” served as a politically-charged response to Flanders’ ongoing integration programmes. A city not well known for its immigrant population, Bruges put it smack in the faces of both local residents and tourists, dotting outdoor spaces with huge posters of immigrants paired with personal stories. “Integrate them into what?” the curator commented to Flanders Today. “They are already part of society.” The “international” tag that has in fact always eluded the city (not counting the tourists), is peeking out in other ways, too. This month’s December Dance was the city’s second annual international dance festival. With a focus on Quebec, it brought this important centre of contemporary dance to Flanders. Along with world-class performance, it also paves the way for future collaboration between the Flemish and Quebec dance scenes. Continued on page 3
Ring out the old, ring in the old Leterme resigns over Fortis Alan Hope nd so Belgium ends the year without a government, having spent most of the year with one that barely functioned. As Flanders Today went to press the King was holding talks with leading political figures, hoping to find someone who could pick up the pieces of Yves Leterme’s shattered administration. Meanwhile, the country was faced with the uninspiring choice of being led again by Jean-Luc Dehaene or Guy Verhofstadt, both former prime ministers who now appear to be building new careers as saviours of the nation.
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Freeze!
Eat!
Sleep!
Make a mad dash through the snow Join the world’s great chefs as they and ice festival before your toes concoct new dishes out of the most fall off and then warm yourself unlikely combinations. with a glass of mulled wine.
Spend the night in a bed and breakfast to meet the natives and experience the real Bruges that most tourists never see.
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9 Feature 1, 3, 5-6
Active 7, 9
Living 10-11
News 12
Business 13
On Friday 19 December, Yves Leterme formally resigned his entire government, standing down for the fourth time since his triumphant success in the elections of June 2007. Then, he garnered 800,000 personal preference votes – a magnificent total, but not enough to enable him to govern. His resignation at the weekend came after he was accused by the senior magistrate in the country of bringing pressure to bear on judges in an ongoing case in which the government is involved – the decision to suspend the sale of bank-insurer Fortis Continued on page 12 Agenda 14-15
Interview 16