Hot air balloon announces arrival of Jules Verne museum in Forest

A museum dedicated to writer Jules Verne will open in the Brussels municipality of Forest on 24 March.

Anticipatory events are already being held ahead of the debut, including the chance to climb aboard a hot air balloon in a nod to Verne’s iconic novel, Around the World in Eighty Days. The launch of the balloon took place 80 days before the museum’s opening day.

Michel Dircken, curator of the Brussels Museum of Fantastic Art, is responsible for setting up the museum in the former Roma cinema on Chaussée de Neerstalle in Forest.

“Michel is a like a big kid,” said Saint-Gilles mayor Jean Spinette, expressing delight with the idea to launch a hot air balloon to build interest.

“When he proposed the idea of this hot air balloon, a bit on the spur of the moment, I thought it was brilliant and said ‘yes’ straight away. But for safety reasons, we weren't allowed to let the balloon take off. It's also true that we didn't really publicise the event. We wanted to create a surprise.”

The website for the upcoming museum promises a "retro-futuristic aesthetic" in line with Verne’s love of science fiction.

“The Centre Jules Verne is intended to be a space for exhibitions and entertainment, with fantasy, surrealism and the marvellous as its common themes,” it said.

The museum is billed as a place dedicated to the imagination that will combine visual arts, literature, meetings and workshops.

Between now and its opening, the hot air balloon will travel to Amiens (France), the writer’s home town, before heading to Forest on 24 March for the grand opening.