Brussels' Palais 12 becomes ING Arena

The Palais 12 venue in Brussels is getting a new name to mark its 10th anniversary in its current form.

The concert and performance venue, which reopened in 2013 at Heysel, is changing its name to ING Arena.

The name is the result of a partnership between Brussels Expo, which oversees all the Heysel palaces, and the financial institution ING.

The rebranding, similar to the Lotto Arena in Antwerp and the Trixxo Arena in Hasselt, “is an underlying trend”, according to Denis Delforge, chief executive of Brussels Expo.

“It's a trend we've seen for 10 years or more, mainly in Anglo-Saxon countries, and now it's gradually coming to Belgium and continental Europe,” Delforge said.

The name change is “a real plus” according to Delforge.

“It's a win-win situation for both the venue and the partner, because we share the same values and the same intention, which is to create emotion for the audience,” Delforge said.

“Thanks to this type of partnership, the venue can also gain a more international reputation because ING is an international brand whereas Palais 12 is more of a national or even local brand.”

In its decade of operating in its current form, Palais 12 and its capacity of up to 18,000 people has welcomed all sorts of audiences from all over Belgium.

“Everyone feels at home at Palais 12, because it's a venue located on the Heysel plateau where you have the stadium, the Atomium and the other palaces,” said Delforge.

“These are above all national symbols. Palais 12 quickly found its place with the public and with the artists.”