Brussels nightlife has suffered over the last two years, but many venues believe “enough is enough”.
NIGHTCLUBS in Brussels are set to open their doors to customers tomorrow after a long two years of restrictions on nightlife throughout Belgium.
Brussels nightlife went through a brief renaissance in August last year as cases of Covid-19 dropped, but the arrival of the Omicron variant led to things closing down again, leaving venues to struggle financially over the winter.
The sector has been united by the Brussels By Night Federation, a body that represents nightlife in the Belgian capital. The Federation were outraged after a Consultative Committee meeting failed to act over the reopening of the nightlife sector, which caused some to announce they would be opening on February 18 with or without Covid-19 restrictions.
“We cooperated: first for two weeks, then for a few months and finally we closed for two years, but enough is enough,” Lorenzo Serra of the Brussels By Night Federation told Bruzz on February 9.
Serra added that the nightlife sector has been “without perspective and with insufficient financial support since the brief reopening in the fall of 2021.”
“The government-imposed barometer appears to be nothing more than an outdated tool to permanently impose a closure,” said Serra who also explained that “entrepreneurs in our industry can’t take any more. Many are about to sell everything,”.
Another Consultation Committee meeting took place on February 11 and after hearing the concerns of the nightlife industry, announced the easing of restrictions after Covid-19 infections fell from a record 75,000 on January 24 to an average of around 23,000 in the week to February 7.
In line with other European countries, hospital admissions also declined and the number of patients in intensive care was much lower than during the Delta wave.
This means that from February 18 (tomorrow), nightclubs will be allowed to reopen, bars will be able to keep their doors open beyond the current limit of midnight and end restrictions on the number of patrons per table, while live concerts will also be made possible with a standing audience.
Meanwhile, other countries across Europe are also easing restrictions on nightlife. The Netherlands will see restrictions lifted after February 25 allowing clubs to finally reopen after months of curfews and forced closures.
In the Catalonia region of Spain, clubs fully reopened on February 11 after being forced to shut in December, while French revellers will no longer be required to wear masks in indoor venues, including bars and restaurants from February 28.
Germany is also making progress on their route back to normality as a three-step relaxation of Covid-19 measures is planned for the coming weeks.