Winter Wonders a success with more than 4 million visitors

Brussels’ annual Christmas market Winter Wonders attracted more than 4.3 million visitors to the Belgian capital this season.

The figure is four times more than the Foire du Midi, Brussels’ iconic summer event, and represents an increase of 3% over last year’s edition.

The estimated 4,355,253 visitors included more than 1.5 million Brussels residents, more than 1.17 million Flemish and Walloons and up to 1.63 million international visitors, mainly from the United Kingdom, France and Spain. This year also saw large numbers of visitors from Poland, China and Portugal.

“I’m delighted with the renewed success of this edition, which is the result of a long-term commitment to making Brussels a leading winter destination,” said Mayor Philippe Close (PS).

“This Christmas market proves that it is capable of bringing everyone together, both tourists and Belgians.”

Close believes that American coverage of the event - including on CNN and in The Washington Post - gave foreign tourist numbers a boost.

“CNN ranked us among the top three Christmas markets last year and this year has singled us out as one of the destinations to celebrate the end of the year, which helps us enormously,” Close said.

“What’s more, this is the kind of media that broadcasts internationally, not just in the United States. But this is fragile, we must be careful. There is a lot of competition, as many cities have realised that there’s value in promoting the end of the year.”

This year’s edition inaugurated a new space on Place Poelaert at the foot of the Ferris wheel, which trade alderman Didier Wauters (Les Engagés) described as "a real success".

“We’re continuing to think about ways to make the event more and more original, with different atmospheres in different neighbourhoods,” Wauters said.

The city authorities are considering extending the perimeter of Winter Wonders in the future, potentially to more outlying shopping districts.

“Personally, this is a project that is very dear to me - enabling visitors to say to themselves that they’ll come back when the weather is nice, sit on this or that terrace or visit this or that shop,” said Wauters, adding that extending the perimeter could be a way to combat "mobility and traffic problems" caused by the yearly festival.

The most visited attraction was the ice rink, which drew about 50,000 skating visitors. The curling site was also popular.

But an inclusive nativity scene on the Grand-Place was frequently criticised and Close said the council would reconsider its approach for the next edition, noting the festival’s "need to innovate" in the future.

The next edition of Winter Wonders will take place from 27 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, marking the event’s 25th anniversary.