The Midi Fair, also known as the South Fair
(; ) or the Kermesse of Brussels (; ), is the most important
fair
A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Fairs showcase a wide range of go ...
or ''
kermesse'' in
Brussels
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
, Belgium, held since 1880. It takes place every year and lasts more than a month, starting on the Saturday preceding 21 July (
Belgian National Day
Belgian National Day (; ; ) is the national holiday of Belgium commemorated annually on 21 July. It is one of the country's ten public holidays and marks the anniversary of the investiture of Leopold I as the first King of the Belgians in 1 ...
) and ending on the Sunday of the sixth fair weekend, in the second half of August. The average of over 120 attractions draw more than 1.5 million visitors annually.
History
The Midi Fair has been organised since 1880 on the /, part of the
Small Ring (Brussels' inner ring road), between the
Halle Gate and the
Anderlecht Gate. That year, the
Brussels City Council decided to bring together the fairs of the
Grand-Place/Grote Markt (Brussels' main square), the / and the
Place des Martyrs/Martelaarsplein at this new location, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of
Belgian independence.
Subsequently, a committee of traders and municipal councilors was set up in 1882 to organise the Brussels Fair. After some hesitation, the fair was renewed every year from 1885.
Since its 19th-century origins, the Midi Fair—now the largest fair in Brussels,
extending over along the Small Ring—has evolved a lot and adapted to technological developments.
Wrestler
Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves diffe ...
s' booths,
fortune-teller
Fortune telling is the spiritual practice of predicting information about a person's life. Melton, J. Gordon. (2008). ''The Encyclopedia of Religious Phenomena''. Visible Ink Press. pp. 115–116. The scope of fortune telling is in principle ...
s,
steam-power
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs Work (physics), mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a Cylinder (locomotive), cyl ...
ed
carousel
A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (International English), or galloper (British English) is a type of amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders. The seats are tradit ...
s and
barrel organ
A barrel organ (also called roller organ or crank organ) is a France, French mechanical musical instrument consisting of bellows and one or more ranks of organ pipe, pipes housed in a case, usually of wood, and often highly decorated. The basic ...
s have given way to purely technical attractions such as
bumper cars
Bumper cars or dodgems are the generic names for a type of flat amusement ride consisting of multiple small electrically powered cars which draw power from the floor or ceiling, and which are turned on and off remotely by an operator. They are ...
,
roller coaster
A roller coaster is a type of list of amusement rides, amusement ride employing a form of elevated Railway track, railroad track that carries passengers on a roller coaster train, train through tight turns, steep slopes, and other elements, usua ...
s,
Ferris wheel
A Ferris wheel (also called a big wheel, giant wheel or an observation wheel) is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating upright wheel with multiple passenger-carrying components (commonly referred to as passenger cars, cabins, tubs, gondola ...
s, etc.
Snacks sold at food stalls include
caricoles (
periwinkles), crabs,
French fries
French fries, or simply fries, also known as chips, and finger chips (Indian English), are '' batonnet'' or '' julienne''-cut deep-fried potatoes of disputed origin. They are prepared by cutting potatoes into even strips, drying them, and f ...
and
smoutebollen (
beignet
Beignet ( , also , ; ) is a type of deep-fried pastry of French origin. It is commonly made from choux pastry, pâte à choux, but can also be made using rice flour (rice beignets) or yeast-leavened batters. Beignets can be served in a variety o ...
s).
The event was cancelled in 2020 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium
The COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium has resulted in confirmed cases of COVID-19 and deaths.
The virus was confirmed to have spread to Belgium on 4 February 2020, when one of a group of nine Belgians repatriated from Wuhan to Brussels was repor ...
. In 2021, the event's location was moved slightly up from its regular spot due to work being carried out on the future
metro line 3 on the /, leading to noise complaints by nearby residents.
That same year, the fair was included in the inventory of
intangible cultural heritage
An intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is a practice, representation, expression, knowledge, or skill considered by UNESCO to be part of a place's cultural heritage. Buildings, historic places, monuments, and artifacts are cultural property. In ...
of the Brussels-Capital Region under the listing: 'The living culture of the funfair'.
By 2022, however, the number of visitors had not yet returned to pre-pandemic figures.
See also
*
History of Brussels
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a region of Belgium comprising 19 municipalities, including the City of Brussels, which is the capital ...
*
Culture of Belgium
The culture of Belgium involves both the aspects shared by all Belgians regardless of the language they speak and the differences between the main cultural communities: the Dutch-speaking Belgians (mostly Flemish) and the French-speaking B ...
*
Belgium in the long nineteenth century
In the history of Belgium, the period from 1789 to 1914, dubbed the "Long nineteenth century, long 19th century" by the historian Eric Hobsbawm, includes the end of Habsburg monarchy, Austrian rule and periods of French First Republic, French ...
References
External links
*
* {{Official, http://www.foiredumidi.brussels
Annual events in Brussels
City of Brussels
Culture in Brussels
History of Brussels
Fairs in Belgium
Summer events in Brussels