More than 2 km of garland, new technology, Canadian decorations: Everything you need to know about the Grand Place tree decorations this year (PHOTOS)

Posted On: November 21, 2023

As darkness fell on the Grand Place in Brussels this Monday, the garlands came out of the boxes. Light balls, illuminations, pendants… The capsules are abuzz with activity for the final night of the massive tree-decorating operation that arrived with great fanfare last Wednesday. “It is always a joy and an honor to decorate a tree like this.”smiles Salim, one of the decorators at Brain-based Pact Solutions.

This year, unlike last year, the meeting took place at night. “There are too many people on the Grand Place during the day to work safely.”, we are told at major events in Brussels. This Sunday, the most beautiful square in the capital was actually full of tourists taking selfies in front of the tree, albeit always with the simplest camera.

140 Canadian awards

Incidentally, the 22-meter-long Nordmann was felled in the garden of Maria, an 87-year-old woman who lives in Lier near Antwerp. Last year, the tree, which comes from Raeren, was dressed in a classic way: champagne and cream colors to provide natural light in low lighting conditions during this time of energy crisis.

After a sober edition, this time a more original tree. The theme this year is Quebec, the conifer features 140 ornaments from across the Atlantic. So we find “Elements representative of indigenous culture”: small snowshoes, stars, dream catchers and “Inukshuks”, i.e. stacks of stones. Handcrafted decorations delivered directly to the suitcases of members of the Canadian delegation.

As a reminder, this is not the first time that a country or region has had the privilege of decorating the tree. For example, in 2014, the city of Riga was in the spotlight.

The Christmas tree was put up on the Grand Place in Brussels (PHOTOS AND VIDEO)

The light package

“We put up 2.2 km of garlands. It is almost twice as much as in other years..” Vanessa Amor, decoration specialist at Brussels Major Events, doesn’t hide her enthusiasm. A total of 200,000 LEDs were placed around and in the large deciduous tree. A”colossal work” : Ultimately it took 24 hours to decorate the tree, compared to eight hours last year…

New this year: The tree comes to life with colorful patterns and clever animations. A new feature made possible thanks to the Twinkly application that allows “luminous visual association”. Each LED has a wide range of colors. “This year we are dealing with the theme of the great spirits of the eleven nations: fire, rain, thunder and wind. We will have effects, with fades, sparks, flames… It is an extraordinary technology in terms of flexibility. It’s 3.0.”

Unlike last year, the tree will be lit earlier, from 1 p.m. to 1 a.m. According to Brussels Major Events, this time extension creates commercial attractiveness, more magic and security. “We take sustainability into account”, we assure you. Since LEDs are becoming more and more efficient and use less energy, the bill for this longer hourly range is actually not surprising: €64 more per day.

But to see the result you will have to wait a few more days… The tree will actually remain unlit until Friday at 6 p.m. Time for the winter wonders to begin.