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

In June the Brussels Light Opera Company (BLOC) will be presenting two one-act comic operas. Five performances are programmed from 11 to 14 June at GC de Bosuil in Overijse.

The one-act operas are ‘The Zoo’ and ‘Trial by Jury’.

In ‘At the Zoo’ we meet two young men, in love with different women. One man faces rejection from his beloved's father due to his low social status as an apothecary, while the other has a more favourable situation with a lady working at a refreshment stall. Following suicide attempts and dramatic revelations, will love prevail in the end?

In ‘Trial by Jury’ Edwin, having fallen in love with another woman, has jilted Angelina, who is suing him for Breach of Promise of Marriage. The Judge and Jury all favour Angelina. Edwin proposes to marry both women on consecutive days, to which Angelina objects, but in the end the Judge finds a solution which will satisfy everyone.

Get your tickets here.

Win theatre classes for your child for one year! At the BBCA/ Stonemanor Garden Party the Brussels-based English Youth Theatre (EYT) offered two amazing prizes in a silent auction: free places in its Youth Theatre (weekly theatre classes) for the September 2026 to June 2027 year.

The silent auction closes at midnight on Monday 11 May – so if you couldn’t make it to Everberg on Sunday there is still a chance to win one of these valuable prizes worth at least €800!

For more information, terms & conditions, and to place your bid follow this link or use the QR code below on your smartphone.

All proceeds will go to the Infirmier de Rue charity.

Its that time of year again – time to fill in your Belgian Tax Return on your 2025 income. But how to do it? What is your tax residency status and what are the consequences? How do you declare foreign income? What information do you have to prepare or provide?

Fortunately, the Expat Welcome Desk (EWD) of the Brussels Commissioner’s office is organising a webinar (in English) on these topics from 12h00 noon on Tuesday 19 May 2026.

The webinar will be primarily focused on expats working for Belgian employers. The session will be moderated by Selma Mitri, Legal Advisor and EWD Manager and the speaker is Eric Laurent, Tax Consultant at ERYV.

The webinar is free but mandatory registration is required before Friday 15 May at 17h00. More information on the webinar can be found here.

And you can register via this link.

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

Anyone with a Scottish Accent who fancies being part of an advertising campaign for Visit Flanders

11-12 May in Antwerp.

Contact - 

www.wewantyou.agency

On 9 May, people in cities across the world will come together in the quiet hours before dawn for Darkness Into Light, a powerful sunrise walk that shines a light on mental health, suicide prevention, and hope.

In Belgium, Darkness Into Light has once again chosen the CHS Helpline as its partner. That means all the money raised by the walk goes towards keeping this vital service running around the clock every day of the year. The CHS Helpline is a critical support for so many in their darkest moments.

You can join CHS and its supporters on the Darkness into Light walk on 9 May in Parc du Cinquantenaire, Brussels starting at 5 am to share a walk of hope.

The walk begins in darkness and ends as the sun rises – a symbol of remembrance, solidarity, and hope for the future. The walk remembers those who have died by suicide, honours the loved ones they left behind, and most importantly, supports the prevention of suicide and the promotion of mental well-being.

For more information and to sign up for the walk, please use this link and support this great cause.

For those outside Brussels, Darkness into Light walks will also take place on May 9 in Ghent, Leuven, Bruges, and Tervuren. Information about the starting points for those walks will be posted on the Darkness into Light page of the CHS website here.

See you there?

The BBCA works to be a focal point for the British and anglophone/ anglophile community in the Brussels area and surrounding regions organising events that are open to everyone and raising funds to support local charities.

All this is achieved through the work of volunteers who give their time to implement events, maintain our website and other activities.

We are always looking to do more to support the community but – to be frank – we are finding it increasingly difficult to maintain our current level of activities.

We need more helpers to lend a hand or two. We need you!

We need people to help set up events, to sell raffle tickets, help with stalls, and similar tasks. Whatever time you can spare would be useful to us. And it’s fun too!

We are also looking for people who can help run our organisation through the BBCA Council. In particular we are looking for a new Treasurer and a person to lead on Events from our 2026 Annual General Meeting that will take place in May.

And don't forget our Community Survey - have your say on what we do!

Click here to access the survey.

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

In this issue we are launching a survey to find out what the community might want the BBCA to be organising and we are looking to recruit more volunteers to help us organise events and activities.

The survey takes just a couple of minutes to complete so take a look and tell us what you’d like us to be doing.

As ever the newsletter also highlights recent community news and forthcoming exciting community events including the BBCA / Stonemanor Moederdag event on 10 May - see you there!

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

Moving into or out of a rental property in Belgium can raise many issues and be an anxiety inducing experience, especially when it comes to property condition reports (aka the infamous états des lieux). Understanding your rights and obligations is essential to avoid disputes and unexpected and unwelcome costs.

Fortunately, the Expat Welcome Desk (EWD) of the Brussels Commissioner’s office is organising a seminar (in English) on property condition reports from 12h00 noon on Tuesday 10 March. This will be a hybrid event with a limited number (50) of places for in-person attendance and also online access.

During the seminar, property inspection experts will guide you through the key moments of entry and exit condition reports, and explain and share practical tips to help you protect your interests with confidence.

The session will be moderated by Selma Mitri, Legal Advisor and EWD Manager and the speakers are Federico Chabert and Dave Deruytter from Expertym.

Topics to be covered include the legal framework and obligations related to entry and exit inspections, entry inspections: amicable procedures and expert involvement, exit inspections: processes, disputes, and expert appointment, costs and fee allocation for property condition reports. how to limit and negotiate inspection-related costs, and claims after the exit inspection: what landlords can (and cannot) request.

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

This seminar is free, but registration is mandatory and will close on Friday 6 March at 17h00. You can register for in-person or online access via this link.

The venue for in-person attendance is the EWD offices at 63 Avenue d’Auderghem, 1040 Brussels. For online attendance, a link to access the webinar will be sent via e-mail to registrants one day before the event. Remember to check your spam box!

Serve the City’s superb Second-hand English Book Sale will set up shop at a new location – the UrSquare – The Hall in Ixelles – on Saturday 21 March 2026. This indoor location is at Avenue de la Couronne/ Kroonlaan 227 in Ixelles/ Elsene.

Enjoy browsing in a great environment, bring your old books and/or buy others. You will find fiction, non-fiction and children’s books! The books are sold by the centimetre at €2 per cm – and if you are a bona fide student just present your student card for a 25% discount!

Books will be on sale from 10h00 to 15h30 and books can be donated between 10h00 and 12h00 at Fritz Toussaintstraat 8, 1050 Brussels.

More details on the Serve the City website.