The Zinneke Parade is a biennial parade held in the City of Brussels, Belgium, since 2000. It is a cultural event organised by the Zinneke Association that brings together at each edition about 2,500 participants and attracts between 50,000 and 80,000 spectators. A different theme is chosen for each parade.
Background The Zinneke Parade was established with the aim of connecting the many different cultures, communities and districts within Brussels. The director of the Zinneke Association, Myriam Stoffen, has talked about the desire to "build bridges" between these parts of the city. Indeed, Zinneke is a nickname chosen to represent a person from Brussels who was not born there (the opposite of ketje for a native local). The word means "mutt" or "bastard" in the Brusselian dialect, and originally referred to the city's stray dogs that hung around the streets by the Lesser Senne (a tangent canal of the river Senne, which circumnavigated Brussels along the city walls) until the end of the 19th century (see covering of the Senne).
The organisers of the parade aim to work with a large variety of institutions, schools, cultural centres, organisations and societies. Residents work together with professional artists to create the ideas and prepare the projects that eventually make up the parade. Another characteristic of the parade that distinguishes it from many other parades or carnivals is that it is described as being "100% human" – music is performed live, without amplification, and there are no motorised vehicles.
History The Zinneke Parade was created for the first time as part of Brussels 2000, European Capital of Culture, with the aim of organising a multicultural carnival, a creative and participative event "likely to reconcile the Brussels population with its identity".Catherine Wielant, La rue est à nous! Zinneke une parade créative à Bruxelles (in French), La Vénerie and Fondation Jacques Gueux, 2002 The Zinneke Parade was watched by 60,000 spectators in 2006. In 2008, over 7,000 people were involved with the parade, under the theme "Eau / Water" ("Water"), with 2,500 of these appearing in the parade itself.
The 2010 theme was "A table / Aan tafel" ("Have a meal" or "Come to the Table!") and was held in May. In 2010, the parade was accompanied by a group of puppeteers from Belgium, Ireland, Italy and France, who performed in a number of balconies overlooking the route of the parade. The participants in the parade formed about 25 zinnodes, groups of around 100 people each, which started from four squares in the city—the Place Fontainas/Fontainasplein, the Place Sainte-Catherine/Sint-Katelijneplein, the / and the /—then met along the way.
The 2012 Zinneke Parade took place on 19 May 2012, under the theme "Désordre / Wanorde" ("Disorder"). It was viewable from 22 locations around the centre of the City of Brussels, starting at 3 p.m. from the Grand-Place/Grote Markt (Brussels' main square). The 2016 edition, with the theme "Fragil" ("Fragile"), took place on 21 May 2016. The 2020 edition, with the theme "Wolven ! / Aux loups !" ("Wolves !"), was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium.
+ Themes by year Year Date Theme Ref 2000 27 May La ville / De stad 2002 25 May Zinnergie 2004 24 May Le corps dans la ville / Het lichaam in de stad 2006 13 May Toekomst à venir 2008 31 May Eau / Water 2010 22 May A table / Aan tafel 2012 19 May Désordre / Wanorde 2014 10 May Tentation / Bekoring 2016 21 May Fragil 2018 12 May Illegal 2020 Cancelled Wolven ! / Aux loups ! 2022 14 May Trompe l'oeil / Optische illusie 2024 1 June Plaizir
Parade images
See also
Het Zinneke History of Brussels Culture of Belgium
References
External links