From Brussels and Leuven2030, with love

March 2026 – Louise Tournillon, Head of International Relations

There is something special about returning to Brussels a year later.

The familiar landmarks are still there, of course, but the way we navigate the city has changed. A year after our first visit, the meetings have taken on a different meaning. We are no longer simply coming to meet people, but to reconnect, build on previous discussions and refine our ideas.

For a few days, the pace is intense. An early morning train, followed almost immediately by a packed schedule: Leuven to reconnect with the Leuven 2030 team, then Brussels for a series of meetings stretching from one office to another, from institutions to networks, from highly political conversations to much more practical and artistic discussions.

And what is remarkable is the sense of continuity between all these moments which, at first glance, seem entirely separate.

A working lunch builds on a previous meeting, a discussion started with ERRIN finds an echo a few hours later with Creative Europe, and certain questions keep coming up, almost like a common thread: with whom? At what scale? And how can a project like Bourges 2028 become part of initiatives and dynamics that are already underway?

But ultimately, the challenge goes beyond these questions. This visit also reflects a broader ambition: to consider the legacy of Bourges 2028 not only for our own region, but also as a contribution to the European Capital of Culture initiative as a whole. The aim is to establish Bourges and its wider region as lasting participants in these European movements, and to begin shaping a future beyond 2028 in which these connections will continue to thrive.

And then there is everything that never appears on the official schedules.

The journeys between meetings, the conversations that run longer than expected, the quick exchanges to refine an idea, the connections that sometimes develop outside the planned framework. It is often in these moments that things truly begin to take shape.

By the end of the trip, nothing seems particularly spectacular… and yet so much has already changed for us! Concrete opportunities for European collaborations, stronger foundations for 2028, and an increasingly established presence within European cultural networks.

And ultimately, this is how Bourges 2028 is finding its place, step by step, on the European stage.