Cirque Royal decision taken to Council of State

Concert organisers Botanique in Brussels and Sportpaleis in Antwerp have decided to appeal to the Council of State against a decision by Brussels-City council to award the management of the Cirque Royal concert venue to Brussels Expo.

Cirque Royal, located on Rue de l'Enseignement near Botanique, is owned by Brussels-City, but the venue has been run since 1999 by Botanique. Last year, the city council rescinded the contract.

Brussels Expo was then appointed to take over, but Botanique appealed to the Council of State, arguing that there had been no public tender for the management of the venue. When the city council then put the project out to bid, Botanique formed an alliance with Sportpaleis and bid for the contract. But in the end, it went to Brussels Expo.

Botanique/Sportpaleis are claiming conflict of interest, given the council’s links with Brussels Expo, a non-profit chaired by city councillor for tourism Philippe Close. Brussels-City mayor Yvan Mayeur is a member of its board. The appellants are also arguing that the decision lacks transparency.

Based on statements made by members of the council, the consideration of the bids took into account criteria that were not part of the tender requirements, such as the number of artists coming from Wallonia – only 17 in the year leading up to the bid from a total of 230 in the Cirque Royal under Botanique management.

Brussels Expo is also unofficially being boycotted by Live Nation, the agency that has a virtual monopoly on booking talent, following a previous dispute.