Legal aspects

As a general rule, it is not required to set up a legal entity in Belgium for the sole purpose of organising an event in the country, either on a temporary or long-term basis.
However, it might be necessary and/or advisable to set up a legal entity for tax or VAT reasons.
See also section on VAT

When there is a cooperation between different entities in the framework of the organisation of an event, it is always advisable to conclude an agreement that defines the rights and obligations of all parties. This could be either done by contract (for example, a partnership agreement) or by setting up a specific legal entity in Belgium or elsewhere.

The decision on the type of arrangement that is best suited depends on the type of event(s) and the type of cooperation envisaged among the members of the partnership.

The benefit of setting up an entity for a temporary, short-term duration must be assessed from a legal and an accounting point of view.

Authorisations and licences may be required for the organisation of an event depending on the type of event, its location, the target audience and many other factors.

The list below contains some examples of authorisations or permits that may be required, however it is not exhaustive. Authorisations, licences or permits required should be carefully checked before the organisation of every event.

• If it is planned to play music, project a film, play performed or work of art reproduced, then it might be necessary to obtain a licence from Unisono, which is the platform created by the management associations of authors, musicians and artists to protect their rights, and which provides valid licences to customers. Additional information about Unisono licences can be found here: https://www.unisono.be/en/licences/music/events.
• If the event venue is an area open to the general public (such as a square or a park) it is usually required to obtain a prior authorisation from the relevant municipality in order to hold the event.
• Municipalities may also apply specific rules. For example, it may be forbidden to use some specific plastic products; the municipality may limit the maximum number of decibels that cannot be exceeded; there may be specific rules applicable as to the accessibility to the event for people with reduced mobility or emergency services might have to be informed, etc.

In addition to the above, event organisers should bear in mind that currently COVID-19 specific measures might apply and that, in addition to national measures, the city of Brussels has adopted, and may adopt in the future, specific rules (see our covid info page and https://www.bruxelles.be/coronavirus). Moreover, each of the 19 municipalities of Brussels may take additional measures.

Regardless of whether an organisation that is organising an event in Belgium is established inside or outside the European Union (EU), it will certainly have to process personal data (such as name, email, address, phone numbers, etc.) of participants based within the EU; and as such, it will have to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) rules.

During the preparation of such event, specific attention needs to be paid to the following points:

• Event organisers should obtain explicit consent from participants to use their personal data in the scope of the organisation of the event: when registering to the event, the participants explicitly consent to the use of their data and have an option to opt-out for their ultimate use. This is usually done directly via the online platform where registration takes place. It is recommended that participants are asked to approve explicitly the following:
  • Whether or not they wish their name to appear on the list of attendees;
  • Whether they authorise to receive marketing material after the event from the event organiser;
  • Whether the event organiser can share their data with third parties who may send them marketing materials or newsletters, etc.;
  • Whether the event organiser can use pictures taken during the event on which participants can be identified.
• In their communication to participants, event organisers should always refer to their privacy policy: this general privacy policy explains to the individuals what data is being collected on them, how that data is being used and stored. It should be made available on the event organisers’ website.
• Event organisers should ensure that third parties (such as communication consultant, catering supplier, IT supplier, co-organiser) who will be involved in the organisation of their event and who will have access to the personal data of the participants, also comply with the GDPR rules at the same level of security and confidentiality. A specific addendum might be added to the contracts with them, with a high level of attention in case they are based outside the Economic European Area (i.e. the EU countries and Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway), in particular the USA or the UK.

In general, event organisers need to ensure that their staff (employees or freelancers) are always aware of the GDPR rules when handling personal data in the course of the organisation of an event.

With the exception of the GDPR rules (see question on GDPR compliance), there are no specific legal obligations or mandatory provisions establishing what information must be supplied to the participants.

However, as a general rule, the contract that an event organiser concludes with its participants must allow them to have a clear understanding of what is included or excluded in the participation price they pay. The following elements are usually communicated to (and approved by) the participants:

• Dates and location of the event;
• What is included in the price of the ticket, i.e. the event only or also meals, accommodation or other;
• Terms upon which the event organiser may cancel the event and the consequences for the participants;
• Whether, in case of cancellation, the event organiser refunds the price of the ticket or if such amount may be used by the participant for subsequent events;
• Terms and conditions of cancellation by the participants.

The contract that the event organiser concludes with the sponsor is, in general, a B2B contract. In fact, sponsors of events are generally legal entities.  

In light of the above, the parties are free to agree on the terms and conditions of their choice and are not bound by mandatory rules in that respect.

Information that is usually included in the agreement with the sponsors includes the following:

• A clear description of what the sponsors obtain as a service following the payment of the sponsorship fee. Such services may include the indication of the name of the sponsor on the advertising material or on the relevant website of the event organiser, but also the possibility for the sponsor to have one or more of its employees speaking at the event or gadgets with the name of the sponsor distributed at the relevant event. The object of the sponsorship and what the organiser offers to the sponsor must be clearly identified.
• Clauses regulating the consequences of the cancellation of the event by the event organiser should be included.
• The contract should also indicate clearly if the sponsor may cancel its sponsorship or not, and what will be the consequences in case of cancellation of the sponsorship.

Agreements concluded between the event organiser and service providers, such as the hotel, venue or other suppliers, are usually B2B agreements, and therefore the parties are largely free to determine the content of their agreement.

Event organisers should however be aware that hotels and venues often have ‘standard’ agreements that they use for events organised at their premises. It should be noted that while these documents are the ‘standard’ for the relevant hotel or venue, there exists no standard or mandatory type of agreement in Belgium. It is recommended to always refer to the legal responsible of the hotel or venue when clarifying the terms and conditions applicable to the contract.

In addition to having a clear agreement on the price and the description of the services themselves, it is important to make sure that the following aspects are covered in the contract:

• The contract should indicate who will be responsible in case of an accident (e.g. a participant falls in the hotel stairs; the caterer causes bodily injures to a guest while serving food to which s/he was informed to be allergic; etc.). Most of the times, these liabilities lie with the hotel, venue or service provider. It is important to verify that they are covered by appropriate insurance covering their liability. The event organiser may want to ask to receive an insurance certificate as evidence thereof.
  It is fundamental that the relevant supplier (venue, hotel, catering company, etc.) represents and warrants that they hold all necessary licences and authorisations to perform their work.
• Should the service provider process personal data on behalf of the event organiser, specific GDPR related protection clauses should be added to the relevant agreement.

Please note that the list above is a generic list and that each event is different. Therefore, additional clauses will most likely need to be added in relation to each specific event, venue, hotel or type of supplier. 

Yes, the event organiser may limit his/her liability in case of cancellation by regulating this in the relevant contract concluded with the participants (delegates, sponsors, exhibitors) or with service providers (venue, hotel, suppliers).

The limitation of liability in case of cancellation must be very clear in order for it to be properly enforceable. It may cover different elements – see here below a list of the main elements that may be included in such a clause:   

• The reasons for which an event may be cancelled. The event organiser may provide here what suits best for the respective event (e.g. that the event may be cancelled for whatever reason, or that it may be cancelled if a minimum number of participants is not attained, or only in case of force majeure, or in case of COVID-19 related measures, etc.). It is recommended to be as specific as possible.
• What rights the participants, sponsors, venues, hotels or other third parties will have in case of cancellation of the event. In this respect, what is included in this clause is largely the result of contractual negotiations, as well as the event organisers’ needs.
  • If the third party involved is a participant, sponsor or exhibitor, the event organiser may provide for instance that the relevant party will only receive a reimbursement of its fee and that the event organiser will not be liable for any additional damages or costs (e.g. costs of accommodation) of the relevant party.
  • For participants, sponsors or exhibitors the event organiser may provide that, instead of reimbursing the participation fee, it offers a credit to participate in future events.
  • If the third party is the hotel or venue, it is often the case that the hotel or venue provides that penalties must be paid (or even the full agreed amount) if the event organiser cancels the event (fully, i.e. the event not taking place anymore, or partially, i.e. reducing space since the event is taking place with reduced number of participants). Those clauses could be negotiated in order to avoid having to pay the full amount in case of a partial and/or full cancellation.

Under Belgian law, the force majeure is usually defined as an external event or circumstance occurring beyond any reasonable control of the parties, which cannot be avoided, and which allows the parties to suspend or cancel the execution of their contractual obligations.

In order to be considered as force majeure, therefore, an event cannot be caused by the fault of one party, and such event must render the performance of the relevant obligation (e.g. the holding of the relevant event) impossible. A simple increased difficulty in the organisation of the event is not considered, under Belgian law, as an event of force majeure.

It is apparent that the notion of force majeure under Belgian law is very strict. For example, the fact that participants must take a COVID-19 test, or must respect a quarantine when travelling to the event location is not considered a force majeure event. On the other hand, it would be force majeure if the participants are not allowed to travel to the country where the event is organised.

However, parties may contractually agree on a definition of force majeure that suits their needs best. For example, they may better describe what is considered as a force majeure and include pandemics, terrorist attacks, strikes, demonstrations, problems with suppliers and all sort of additional elements that they may agree upon between them.

If an event organiser wishes the clause to apply to the specific COVID-19 situation, it is always advisable to provide this clearly in the definition of the force majeure.

In case a force majeure event occurs, the terms in the agreement need to be verified and the other party notified accordingly. The notification needs to be made in accordance with the contractual terms. All steps taken in the process should be well documented.

As a general rule and subject to some exceptions, the law applicable to a contractual dispute depends on the law applicable to the relevant contract. Therefore, depending on the law applicable to the contract, that would be Belgian law or the law of another country.

For example, it is highly likely that, if the event organiser is located in another country, the general terms and conditions indicate that the law applicable to contracts concluded with the organising entity is the law of that country. Contracts concluded with the hotel or venue or other suppliers based in Belgium will most likely be subject to Belgian law.

As regards the competent court to decide a dispute, this is usually contractually chosen in the framework of the relevant contract. In the absence of choice, for contractual matters it will be the courts of the place of performance of the obligation in question that will be competent, or, in the case of the provision of services, it will be the courts of the place where the services were provided or should have been provided.

Should proceedings be brought against an event organiser in Belgium, the competent court will be determined on the basis of applicable rules of civil procedures.

The language used would depend on the competent court: proceedings before the Brussels’ courts may be held in French or Dutch; if the court is located in Flanders, the language of the proceeding will be Dutch; if the court is located in Wallonia, then the language will be French, and in the German speaking part of Belgium, court proceedings are held in German.