The Zinneke Parade is a biennial

parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...

held in the

City of Brussels The City of Brussels is the largest List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, municipality and historical City centre, centre of the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region, as well as the capital of the French Community of Belgium, the ...

, 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

Brusselian dialect Brusselian (also known as , , , or ) is a Dutch language, Dutch dialect native to Brussels, Belgium. It is essentially a heavily-French language, Francisized Brabantian dialect, Brabantian Dutch dialect that incorporates a sprinkle of Spanish l ...

, 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 A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications such as curtain walls with to ...

) 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 A European Capital of Culture is a city designated by the European Union (EU) for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong pan-European dimension. Being a European Capital of Culture can ...

, with the aim of organising a

multicultural Multiculturalism is the coexistence of multiple cultures. The word is used in sociology, in political philosophy, and colloquially. In sociology and everyday usage, it is usually a synonym for ''ethnic'' or cultural pluralism in which various e ...

carnival, a creative and participative event "likely to reconcile the Brussels population with its identity". 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

, 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 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 ...

Parade images

File:Zinneke Parade-2004-05-08--13-01-12.jpg, A

parade float A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, float (parade), floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually s ...

on the Place de la Bourse/Beursplein File:Zinneke-Parade-2004-05-08--13-38-02.jpg, Two participants posing on the Place de la Bourse File:Zinneke Parade-2004-05-08--16-06-57.jpg, Brightly-coloured stilt walkers on the Place de la Bourse File:Zinneke Parade in Brussels.jpg,

Carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typi ...

-style dancer and processional puppets parading through the streets of Brussels File:Zinneke Parade 2010 9254.jpg, Colourfully-dressed musicians on the Grand-Place/Grote Markt File:Zinneke Parade 2010 9199.jpg, A human-powered vehicle on the Grand-Place File:Zinneke Parade 12014.jpg, A young participant in costume File:Zinneke Parade 12012.jpg, Participants with handcrafted accessories File:Zinneke Parade 12252.jpg, A participant with creative headgear File:Zinneke 2016 Soumonce Voorvertoningen 3.jpg, A group (or ''zinnode'') in insect-inspired costumes File:Zinneke 2016 Soumonce Voorvertoningen 12.jpg, Colourfully-dressed

mime A mime artist, or simply mime (from Greek language, Greek , , "imitator, actor"), is a person who uses ''mime'' (also called ''pantomime'' outside of Britain), the acting out of a story through body motions without the use of speech, as a the ...

s File:Zinneke Parade 2 Brussel.jpg, Two participants with blue costumes and face paint File:Zinneke Parade Brussel.jpg, Colourfully-dressed dancers

References

External links

* * {{Official, http://www.zinneke.org City of Brussels Parades in Belgium Festivals in Brussels Spring (season) in Belgium Belgian folklore Recurring events established in 2000 2000 establishments in Belgium

Background

History

Parade images

See also

References

External links