2003, when the 10-year reign of Albert II was also celebrated. Mathilde was expecting Gabriel and Claire was expecting Louise (but that wasn't announced yet - so we didn't know it)
The royal family (Albert, Paola, Fabiola, Filip & Mathilde, Astrid & Lorenz, Laurent & Claire) will attend the concert offered by the Queen Elisabeth Competition and the National Orchestra at the Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels.
July 21st :
10h00 : Te Deum
- Albert II, Paola and Fabiola : Saint Michiels and Saint Goedele cathedral (Brussels)
- Filip and Mathilde : Saint Quintinus cathedral (Hasselt)
- Astrid and Lorenz : Sankt Nikolaus church (Eupen)
- Laurent and Claire : Saint Martin church (Arlon)
15h00 : military parade
At the Place des Palais, the entire RF.
Afterwards :
17h20 : Filip & Mathilde make a walk from the Colonne du Congrès, past the stands of the military to the "gastronomic walk".
17h45 : Astrid & Lorenz take part in the celebrations in the Royal Park.
18h30 : Laurent visits "Tintin and mobility" ath the Poelaert Square.
21h00 :
Albert II, Paola, Fabiola, Filip & Mathilde, Astrid & Lorenz attend the 175-25 spectacle at the Rogier Square and the fireworks afterwards.
According to the French channel TV5 Europe's teletext they'll show the military parade (or maybe it's only parts of it) from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. - that would be 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. in London - on Thursday July 21st. I don't think the time will change, because that's also the same time the channel showed it last year. But I'll check the teletext daily, and if there's any changes I'll post it.
Looking forward to seeing the military parade and the pictures from the National Day. Only hope Claire will wear something else this year, and not let Laurent decide.
The Canadian TV5 network shows a lot of programming from France and has, in the past, shown official events from Belgium. Im sure i'll be able to catch the coverage of the royals. I dont follow the Belgian royals myself but I can make some screen caps of the event if anyone would like me to.
The festivities for the national day have started !
The king gave his speech on tv. It's broadcasted at the same time on the Flemish national channel (in Dutch) and on the Walloon national channel (in French and German).
Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt , King Albert II and Queen Paola listen to music as thousands of musicians attempt to set a world record for the largest brass band on the eve of the country's 175th anniversary in Brussels July 20, 2005. The current record is held by Japan. The event is part of festivities organised to celebrate the anniversary of Belgium's independence and the 25th anniversary of federalism in the country.
Photo
#1-7:from newscom
#8: Associated Press
They didn't break the world record though...But Albert and Paola enjoyed it - and so did the musicians.
This was another special activity for the 175th birthday of Belgium, which is today (July 21st)!! Brass bands are typical for Belgium, each small town has one.
The festivities for the national day have started !
The king gave his speech on tv. It's broadcasted at the same time on the Flemish national channel (in Dutch) and on the Walloon national channel (in French and German).
BRUSSELS — King Albert II saw five positive developments and reactions in Belgium in the past few months that have given him optimism for the nation's future.
The comments were made in the King's traditional address to the nation on the eve of Independence Day on Thursday.
King Albert II started his speech with a reference to the 7 July bombings in London, saying they were "barbarous terrorist acts that signify full-blown aggression against the fundamental values of our democratic community."
He also praised the variety and quality of this year's national day celebrations, but stressed the importance of local traditions and the richness of diversity in if(flashinstalled == 2){document.write(" ");}else{document.write("[img]../banners/radE4C25.gif[/img]");}Belgium.
However, King Albert II primarily focused on the various attitudes and reactions that had given him confidence in the Belgian future.
Firstly, the public's wish for a unified nation made him happy, the King said, pointing to a recent survey showing 87 percent of the public wants to maintain Belgian unity.
King Albert II said he had also witnessed tolerance, evidenced by the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II on 8 May this year, newspaper 'De Standaard' reported on Wednesday.
But the King has also seen dialogue over issues such as xenophobia, intolerance and also the tributes paid to disaster victims at official ceremonies.
"These meetings, these social ceremonies give testimony to the readiness to enter dialogue and honour the beliefs of everyone," he said,
A fourth attitude was solidarity, which developed as a spontaneous reaction to the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster. "An exceptional zest of generosity traversed the entire country very quickly," King Albert II said.
In conclusion, the monarch said he had witnessed during his recent State visit to China how much Belgian academics, entrepreneurs and artists have creatively and dynamically adopted a willingness to understand the ancient Chinese culture.
The King subsequently said he had sufficient evidence to confirm Belgian openness to the world at large.
He finished his speech by saying Belgium should continue to strive for unity, good social conduct and dialogue. It should also remain open to the outside world and continue to show solidarity, he said.
Hannelore,
Thank you for posting the speech in English. I was left with a warm feeling after reading the speech; grateful that there are voices calling for understanding, tolerance and inclusiveness in a world riddled with intolerance. One question -- are there any photos of the Queen Elisabeth concert tonight?
Happy National Day to all you Belgians, and Happy Birthday Belgium.:) Hope you all have a great day filled with festivities, and I can't wait to see all the pictures and the military parade on tv. Although I'm not Belgian I'll celebrate the day a little myself by eating Belgian waffles (well, some cheap ones I bought in a supermarket, but they're quite good), and having a Belgian beer (a Christmas beer so it's a bit off season, but it's really good, so it's perfect for celebrating the National Day). Thank you mandyy for the pictures so far, and Hannelore thank you for the English summary of Albert's speech.:)
Danielle, I wondered if the ring QP has on in that picture is new because in another photo of that group she seems to be looking at it. Does anyone know? I've not seen her wear it before, I don't think. And, yes, Happy National Day to all the Belgians, and especially to all you who post such wonderful photos and keep us up to date!
Danielle, I wondered if the ring QP has on in that picture is new because in another photo of that group she seems to be looking at it. Does anyone know? I've not seen her wear it before, I don't think. And, yes, Happy National Day to all the Belgians, and especially to all you who post such wonderful photos and keep us up to date!
Emily, that ring (the big diamond solitaire) is actually quite an old one...it's her engagement ring :) In these pics you can see it better
King Albert II and Queen Paola attend a world record attempt of the biggest fanfare, 20 July 2005 in Brussels, on the eve of Belgian national day, part of the festivities for the 175th anniversary of Belgium and the 25th anniversary of federalism.
The royal family (Albert, Paola, Fabiola, Filip & Mathilde, Astrid & Lorenz, Laurent & Claire) will attend the concert offered by the Queen Elisabeth Competition and the National Orchestra at the Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels.
I'm a bit disappointed by Mathilde who's wearing an "old" outfit (she also wore this wehn she was expecting Gabriel, at the Norwegian state visit to Belgium. In this pregnancy she hasn't really worn any new maternity clothes (except that lovely flowery blouse at the photoshoot and the zuidfoor). But she looks beautiful, so stop nagging Hannelore
Why not???
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