Brussels' biennial 'Flower Carpet' exhibit again blooms in city's central square

Aug. 15 (UPI) -- The biennial Brussels Flower Carpet is back in the Belgian capital on Thursday as workers placed the finishing touches on the impressive, 18,000-square-foot array of dahlias and begonias in the city center.

As has been the case every other August since 1986, the dazzling display of flowers laid out in a creative pattern across the pavement of Brussels' historic Grand-Place plaza inspired onlookers from around the world.

This year's edition is 230 feet long by 79 feet wide and was assembled by 100 volunteers in less than six hours in the shadow of Brussels' gothic, 15th-century Town Hall, according to the event's nonprofit organizer, Tapis de Fleurs.

Always a busy tourist destination, the Brussels Town Hall benefits from the Flower Carpet due to the wide-angle views it offers of the exhibit, as well as the "magnificent sound-and-light show" in the evenings during the four days of its biannual run.

Begonias have been the go-to variety in pervious editions of the Flower Carpet, but now they are getting scarcer. Currently, there are only four major begonia producers
remaining in Belgium, necessitating the incorporation of other flower varieties, officials say.

That means for the first time this year, Campine dahlias are the dominant of the two varieties that serve as the flagships of Belgian flower industry.

Thematically, the 2024 edition's motif is also a break from tradition. Rather than being linked to a cultural event or an anniversary as has been the rule, this time the Carpet is a salute to Brussels' heritage as a center of Art Nouveau as well as a nod to street art, youth and the Surrealism movement.

It was designed by street artist Océane Cornille of Liège, Belgium, who goes by the pseudonym "Whoups."