Vlaanderen Feest! .......................................................................................................................................................................................... Client: The Flemish Government Activity: Institutional Authority Attending Public: 10,000 people – free event Location: Belgium / Grand Place, Brussels Venue: Open air event Client Requirement: Briefing: Organisation of an official ceremony to celebrate the 700th anniversary of the creation of Flanders Create a momentum that will enthral people of all ages Demonstrate the government’s will to show the open attitude of Flanders towards it’s neighbours and immigrant cultural groups Avoid the old-fashioned historical reconstruction of medieval battles Underline the integration of Flanders with Brussels as its capital city Target Groups: Flemish people living in Brussels Flemish people in Flanders French speaking people living in Brussels Other inhabitants of all nationalities Tourists visiting Brussels The public and official wings of the Flemish Government as well as the full ‘Corps Diplomatique’ Our Proposal: Description: The celebration was organised as a three-hour concert during which more than 20 guest artists performed on stage, accompanied by a symphony orchestra, a group of musicians and a choir. The multicultural environment and the open attitude to our neighbours was illustrated by the programming of original duos of singers from different ethnic groups. For stage décor, we chose a transparent structure so that it didn’t hide the historical facades of the Grand Place, that we planned to use as a natural background to this event. To enhance the event, we decided to project giant slides on the façade of City Hall. This allowed us to create a specific environment for every guest singer using the cultural inheritance of Flanders such as the artwork of Breugel and Jeroen Bosch as well as the most recent fashion photographers and comic strip designers. To increase interactivity with the public and to make this event more memorable than a concert, we decided to add some special scenery and dramatic episodes. To keep the theme as uncomplicated as possible, we designed all of these inserts as elements of a typical birthday party : a birthday present (to start with, the stage was wrapped as if it was a giant present and was opened by stilt walkers designed as scissors), festive decoration, balloons to roll over the public. The finale of the show was highlighted by an amusing parade of giant strawberries, cream puffs and candle lights that completed the birthday cake into which the City Hall was transformed thanks to an amazing projection of animated slides. To end the show on a magical touch, the master of ceremonies asked the audience to blow out the candles on his signal. At the countdown the flames of all the candles on the cake (which were actually balloons) were released to fly away, followed by a fireworks display.