100,000 attend 'new' Brussels fireworks

An estimated 100,000 people attended the NYE fireworks in Brussels on Wednesday night. This event had been revamped and took place at the Anspach Avenue instead of the Kunstberg. 10,000 different arrows were shot into the air from a hotel roof at De Brouckère.

Spectators flocked to Anspach well before the start, as from 10:30pm. The crowd eventually filled the whole avenue until Fontainas, and was estimated at 100,000 people, like last year. The fireworks kicked off at midnight and continued for 15 minutes and 33 seconds.

Fire services had voiced safety concerns because of the new venue - the Anspachlaan was particularly crowded - but organisers said that no problems popped up. The Brussels Burgomaster Yvan Mayeur calls the event a success; the city said the event marked the start of a new era.

"This is not New York!"

However, some didn't feel comfortable. The Brussels MP Bruno De Lille (greens) said the atmosphere was good, but said there were too many people. "It was too crowded to be real fun. If people had started panicking anywhere, we would have seen a disaster. This was not on the edge, it was over the edge. I hope the city concludes that De Brouckère is not suitable as a location for such an event. The Kunstberg offered everyone the opportunity to enjoy the fireworks in a comfortable way."

De Lille was not the only one with mixed feelings. "We had a place in the front, but because of the many buildings we couldn't see a lot", one lady told the VRT. "They wanted to create a Times Square effect, but we are not in New York!" Others claimed it was all too artificial. "The Kunstberg last year was more natural, more fun!"

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