Let's hear it for spring! Nature is sprouting and we're shaking off the winter blues. So long cocooning, it's been nice. Time to celebrate life and friendship and meet each other outdoors again. How about at a fantastic festival with the best music, films or performances, for instance? Or at Pride, of course!

Spring returns in festive fashion with the acrobatic Up! Festival, the benchmark for contemporary circus in Belgium and beyond (biennial). * Followed closely by the annual high mass for musical adventurers BRDCST Festival, in one of the world's top concert venues: Ancienne Belgique * The Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival is the craziest, most Brussels-based film festival in the world. Don't miss its legendary Vampire Ball! * Every spring, the Royal Greenhouses of Laeken open their doors for almost 3 weeks. It's a feat of Art Nouveau architecture and a botanical wonderland all rolled into one. *

KlaraFestival is held at various cultural centres in Brussels and is the country's largest classical music festival. If you want to go wild with more than 15,000 other ravers, don't miss Rave Rebels at ING Arena! * Prefer to feel the cool wind blowing through your hair? Then, Hangar Festival, the two-day electronic music festival along Brussels' canal, is for you! * Art Brussels has been a fixture of the international art calendar for more than half a century. It's one of the most renowned contemporary art fairs in Europe. * Les Nuits at leading concert venue Botanique marks the start of festivals season. It's the ideal promotion of local Belgian music talent, rubbing shoulders with internationally renowned artists. * You'll find a unique mix of music, art and architecture at the Horst Arts & Music Festival just outside Brussels. It's definitely worth the detour. *

The renowned international Queen Elisabeth Competition is a springboard for talented young violinists, pianists, singers and cellists. The concerts are of the highest level. * Lovers of pioneering performing arts love the Kunstenfestivaldesarts. The international arts festival takes over the whole of Brussels for three weeks. * Brussels Pride is the celebration of the (inter)national LGBTIQA+ community and its  friends and allies! * Lotto Brussels Jazz WE has all of Brussels on its feet! * The Zinneke Parade brings the people of Brussels together. Every two years, this surreal parade descends on the streets of the capital. *