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The Iris Festival is the annual and official celebration of the
Brussels-Capital Region Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
in Belgium. This takes place on May 8.''Iris, fête de l' '', in : ''Dictionnaire d'histoire de Bruxelles'', Collection Dictionnaires, Éditions Prosopon Bruxelles, 2013, It is a day off for Brussels officials. The date of May 8 was chosen for three reasons: * It takes place during the flowering period of the
iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants * Iris (color), an ambiguous color term Iris or IRIS may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional ent ...
—also called flower of Lys—which is the symbol of the region and is pictured at its flag. * It is the day of the victory against Nazi Germany during World War II. * It is also one of the feasts of
Saint Michael the Archangel Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...
, patron saint of Brussels. During the multi-day party, free concerts, street entertainment and all kinds of activities are organized for the general public. Some monuments are exceptionally accessible to the public, and a food truck festival takes place on this day. In 2008, there were 100,000 participants at the festivities. Since 2015, Rock Around The Atomium has also been organized at the
Atomium The Atomium ( , , ) is a landmark building in Brussels, Belgium, originally constructed for the 1958 Brussels World's Fair (Expo '58). It is located on the Heysel/Heizel Plateau in Laeken (northern part of the City of Brussels), where the exhi ...
in this weekend.


See also

*
Day of the Flemish Community The Day of the Flemish Community of Belgium ( nl, Feestdag van de Vlaamse Gemeenschap) is an annual commemoration in the Flemish Community in Belgium on 11 July which marks the anniversary of the Battle of the Golden Spurs (''Guldensporenslag'') i ...
* French Community Holiday *
Day of the Walloon Region The Day of the Walloon Region or simply the Day of Wallonia (french: Fête de la Wallonie) is the annual public holiday of Wallonia, the southern region of Belgium. It is celebrated each third Sunday of September and commemorates the participation ...
* Day of the German-speaking Community *
Belgian National Day Belgian National Day ( nl, Nationale feestdag van België; french: Fête nationale belge; german: Belgischer Nationalfeiertag) is the national holiday of Belgium commemorated annually on 21 July. It is one of the country's ten public holidays a ...


References

{{Reflist


External links


Official website irisfestival.brussels
Year of establishment missing Public holidays in Belgium Culture in Brussels May observances