News and Events -----------

As an expatriate living in Belgium, you may face different situations or issues throughout your life that may have an impact on your assets and those of your family. Entering into a legal relationship with a partner has certain consequences. So, it is useful to know how to protect yourself as a spouse, or to protect your children in the event of life events such as marriage, divorce, or death etc.

Fortunately, the Expat Welcome Desk is organising a webinar (in English) at 12.00 noon on Tuesday 10 February that will cover all you need to know about family law in Belgium.

The webinar will cover issues around cohabitation, marriage, and general future arrangements including the role of notaries, ways of living together (legal cohabitation and marriage), what happens if you do not arrange anything, things you can arrange (marriage contract, advance directive, donation etc), and what to do if one partner dies.

The presentations will be followed by a Q&A session.

The session will be moderated by Selma Mitri, Legal Advisor and Expat Welcome Desk Manager, and the speakers are Elsemiek Apers, Legal Adviser, International Council of the Belgian notariat, and Ludovic du Bus de Warnaffe, Notary in Brussels.

This seminar is free to access, but registration is mandatory and will close on Friday 6 February at 17h00. Registration is via this form.

Please note that the number of registrations is limited and that the session will not be recorded!

The link to access the webinar will be sent via e-mail to registrants one day before the event. Remember to check your spam box !

The Brussels Philharmonic Chorus (BPC) will perform its first concert on 7 March at Saint Jean Berchmans Church in Etterbeek. Beautiful pieces by Arvo Pärt, Brahms, Lauridsen will be performed and a world premiere given for a piece by Nasser Sahim Aljassim specially composed for the chorus and dedicated to Women’s international Day. The BPC will be accompanied by its artistic partner the Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra.

More details below.

The recently formed Brussels Philharmonic Chorus (BPC) is looking for new recruits. The BPC offers the opportunity for you to perform traditional and contemporary choral literature and major works in collaboration with the BPC’s artistic partner the Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra (BPHO).

Details of the audition process for potential chorus members, together with information on proposed performances can be found in the poster above and via the QR code. In particular the Chorus is looking for more tenors and basses, but altos are also welcome!

If you have any questions, you can email the BPC Artistic Director, David Navarro Turres.

Save the date for the BPC's first concert that takes place on 7 March 2026 at Saint Jean Berchmans Church. Beautiful pieces by Arvo Pärt, Dubra, Lauridsen and a world premiere for a piece by Nasser Sahim Aljassim specially composed for the chorus and dedicated to Women’s international Day will be performed. More information soon.

The next talk for the Arts Society Brussels is on the evening of Wednesday 4 February and is entitled: ‘Art and Revolution: The Russian Avant-Garde during the Steel Age’. The talk covers the role of artists such as Kandinsky, Malevich and Chagall in early Soviet culture.

Before the October Revolution of 1917, Russian artists staged a daring revolution of their own by changing the language of art. Suddenly they became the leaders of the European avant-garde. At the time of the Revolution, some like Stravinsky, Goncharova and Roerich, chose to remain abroad, while others, like Kandinsky, Chagall and Malevich, went on to play a leading role in early Soviet culture, amidst utopian hopes for a bright future.

The speaker is Dr Rosamund Bartlett a writer, lecturer and translator whose work as a cultural historian ranges across the arts. She is the author of several books, including biographies of Chekhov and Tolstoy, and a study of Wagner's influence in Russia. She is currently writing a history of the Russian avant-garde.

As ever, the venue will be the Maison Communale of Woluwe St. Lambert, Avenue Paul Hymans 2, 1200 Brussels (Metro Tomberg). Doors open for complimentary drinks at 19h30 with the talk beginning at 20h00.

Members of the ArtSoc have free entrance, but guests can pay at the door (€15 or €8 for bona fide students) and registration to view the talk via Zoom costs €10.

More information here. 

Are you working in Brussels or planning to start a job here? Wondering how the Single Permit works or what rules apply to cross-border workers? On Tuesday 20 January from 12 noon to 13h30 the Expat Welcome Desk is organising an online webinar to guide you through the essential legal aspects of working in Brussels as a foreign employee. Get clear, practical insights to help you navigate your professional life with confidence!

The session, entitled ‘Foreign Workers’ Rights in Brussels: Understanding the Single Permit and Cross-Border Work Rules’, will be moderated by Selma Mitri, Legal Advisor-Manager at the Expat Welcome Desk and the speaker will be Jeroen Maes, Director, Economic Migration Department, Brussels Economy & Employment. The issues to be covered in the webinar include an introduction to the legal framework and scope, applicable procedures, conditions for granting, and some special categories.

The webinar will be in English and is free to access, but you will need to register before Friday 16 January via this form.

Please note that the number of registrations for the webinar is limited and that the session will not be recorded.

The link to access the webinar will be sent via e-mail to registrants one day before the event. Remember to check your spam box !

A magnificent concert of film music with video projections will take place on Thursday 5 February 2026 at the Woluwe-Saint-Pierre cultural centre. 150 choristers, adults and children, accompanied by the Brussels Orchestral Ensemble under the direction of talented conductor Romain Verbeeren will perform some of the most beautiful chapters of film music.

This special musical evening has been proposed and organised by the Irish and Multinational Groups of the Association Femmes d'Europe.

This show will feature a selection of some of the most memorable and moving film scores. The music, video projections and special lighting promise a magical evening for young and old alike.

Enjoy a wonderful moment of musical emotion and at the same time support the mission of Femmes d’Europe. Tickets cost € 40 for adults and € 20 for under 18s. More information and booking here.

Our January 2026 e-Newsletter has just been published and sent to our members contact list.

As ever the newsletter highlights recent community news and forthcoming exciting community events including BBCA events with a focus on our fabulous Christmas Reception that took place on 15 December!  A range of other community activities plus many dates for your diary into the New Year are also featured.

You can access a pdf copy of the newsletter here. Enjoy!

Many thanks to everyone who came to the BBCA Christmas Reception on Monday 15 December. We hope you all had a very enjoyable evening at the British Residence. Thanks to your generous purchase of raffle tickets, we were able to raise €1250 to support the work of Serve The City in Brussels.

Our thanks to Deputy Ambassador Lizzie McKinnell who was our host at The Residence. Guests were royally entertained by the usual fine food and drink and seasonal songs from the ‘Sixterhood’ plus a festive recital.

In addition to the money raised for Serve The City, the evening saw the annual presentation of cheques to support the work of BBCA ‘core’ charities: The British Charitable Fund (BCF), the Community Help Service (CHS), the Royal British Legion Brussels branch, and The Wednesday Club.

Our thanks to all the BBCA team (see above) who helped make the evening such a success, in particular Nikki, Amanda and the raffle sales team, and Tracie for organising the entertainment.

Our thanks also to our Raffle prize sponsors: Waterstones, the English Comedy Club, Crush Wine, The Bulletin, Progeny Group and Stonemanor.

You can enjoy the evening again with some photos from the event here.

We hope to see you again at one of our 2026 events. One date for your diary already is Sunday 10 May for the Spring Mothers Day event at Stonemanor Everberg, which promises to be bigger and better than ever.

Our best wishes for the rest of the Festive Period wherever you may be and a very Happy New Year from the BBCA.

On the evening of Wednesday 10 December the Arts Society Brussels is asking the question: What about Beauty? The question relates to Art Deco architecture that is often seen as a luxury movement attempting to counter purist modernism and industrial mass production.

This talk will examine the web of relations between these parallel tendencies taking a look at some fine examples of Art Deco in Brussels and the links between beauty and function, including some remarks on Henry van de Velde who 'never succumbed to the lure of Art Deco' but whose intimate modernism and theoretical concepts relate to the more indulgent architecture of the interbellum.

The speaker is Olaf Winkler who studied architecture in Aachen and Vienna and AT and is a journalist, architecture critic, editor, Brussels correspondent for db Deutsche Bauzeitung, architecture guide, and artist.

As ever, the venue will be the Maison Communale of Woluwe St. Lambert, Avenue Paul Hymans 2, 1200 Brussels. Doors open for complimentary drinks at 19h30 with the talk beginning at 20h00.

Members of the ArtSoc have free entrance, but guests can pay at the door (€15 or €8 for bona fide students) and registration to view the talk via Zoom costs €10.

More information here: https://theartssociety.org/events/what-about-beauty-art-deco-withversus-modernism