Brussels’ Winter Wonders festivities attracted 4.2m visitors, including 15% more tourists from abroad

The Winter Wonders 2024 festivities were attended by 4,229,235 visitors, reports the city of Brussels, as it reflected on a successful 24th edition that “shined the spotlight on the City of Brussels in Belgium and internationally”.

Contributing to the spike in visitors was a 15% increase in the number of international tourists. They numbered 1,618,582, while Belgian visitors totalled 2,610,653 (1,478,794 from Brussels, 1,131,859 from other regions).

International tourists to the event, staged between 29 November and 5 January, originated mainly from France, Spain and Italy.

“These figures confirm that Winter Wonders remains an unmissable event, capable of bringing together Brussels residents and visitors from all over the world,” said Brussels mayor Philippe Close.

Referring to the recent high rankings of the festivities in foreign press such as CNN and Washington Post, Close added: “Brussels is definitely establishing itself as one of the best Christmas markets in the world.”

The mayor also highlighted the contribution of the guest region Var, from the South of France.

Among the popular attractions were the curling rink that welcomed 3,499 players to its three tracks in Place De Brouckère. The square’s ice rink was another high performer with 53,131 visitors.

Meanwhile, social media traffic reported 1,398,000 video views on Instagram, 60,000 on Facebook and 1,219,000 on TikTok. The Winter Wonders website drew 235,000 unique visits.

Tours of the City Hall were another successful activity on the programme. Some 2,679 people visited the gothic building in the Grand Place, while 3,264 climbed its tower to admire panoramic views of the city centre.

Eco-friendly initiatives

The city along with partner organisations stepped up sustainability efforts with the following measures.

• 650,000 reusable cups and 50,000 plates: Used by traders on the Place de la Monnaie, Place de la Bourse and De Brouckère, reducing 2.5 tonnes of CO2
• Waste: Redesigned system for sorting visitors’ waste and removing traders’ bins throughout the event
• Food redistribution: 1,180kg of surplus transformed into 2,360 distributed meals, saving 4.25 tonnes of CO2
• Dry toilets: Saving 200,000 litres of water at Place De Brouckère

Big draw events

The city said its strategy of decentralising some events helped spread visitors around the capital, while offering a boost to outlying districts. The Winter Pop programme in partnership with local associations attracted a large audience in the Marolles, Ambiorix Square and Laeken.

Winter Wonders was also enhanced by the Brussels by Lights illuminations, which lit up some171 shopping streets around the city.

To ring in 2025, some 50,000 people attended the New Year's eve firework display at the foot of the Atomium.

Make-A-Wish fundraiser

The Christmas tree adorning the Grand Place was decorated with 180 Côte d’Or elephant ornaments autographed by Belgian celebrities. They were auctioned to raise €8,800 for the Make-A-Wish charity that grants wishes to critically ill children. Parallel actions raised a further €34,000.

Photos ©City of Brussels