2023-09-05 06:32:50
In 1888, the Great International Science and Industry Competition put the Cinquantenaire back in the spotlight.
The preparations for this event are taking place in the middle of the election period, as Jacqueline Guisset recounts: “The political parties are torn apart and the press is unleashed about its funding. A partnership of public and private financing allows the establishment of pipelines for water and gas, first horse-drawn and then electrified tram lines. Brussels is becoming urbanized and 1,200 workers work day and night. The exhibition is scheduled for early May 1888 but the work will accumulate a lot of delay. The site was in a catastrophic state, the park is completely damaged“.
She continues: “Following this 1888 exhibition, there are still the two initial palaces, a few halls behind the hemicycle and the arcade which are still not completed. We are waiting for the sequel. There is an opposition between King Leopold II and his Prime Minister August Beernaert who does not want to give money. They say the arcade will be tomorrow!“Thereafter, as the historian specifies, there will be bickering and political disagreements, perhaps a Belgian specificity, with multiple decision-making seats, although less separated than today:”We build, we demolish and we build again, a bit like in ‘the great useless works’ of the famous RTBF program“.
For 2030, the bicentenary of Belgium, the site will be brand new: “There is a major restoration campaign because the Cinquantenaire, which will be THE venue for the festivities“concludes Jacqueline Guisset.
► Discover the rest of the story of the Cinquantenaire in the podcast ofA day in history above.
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