Polish Day in Brussels returns for its 3rd edition on May 4, 2024, at Cinquantenaire Park. This is the largest Polish festival in this part of Europe. This year’s event is organized to mark the 20th anniversary of Poland’s accession to the European Union.

Polish Day 2024
May 4, 2024 | 10:00-22:00
Parc du Cinquantenaire
Join the Facebook event and check out the full programme
Free entry. No registration required.

The festival welcomes everyone, including Belgian residents, Brussels’ international community, and the Polish diaspora. It offers a variety of attractions such as live music, literary sessions, family activities, contests, and food. Polish organizations, representations of the regions, and schools in Belgium will present their specialties and attractions. The grand finale will be a free concert by popular Polish singer.

We invite you to visit the tent of the Polish Institute Brussels, where we’ve prepared a special programme of events. This year, we’re focusing on the Polish language and literature. We will explore the beauty of this complex and challenging language, with its unique rustling sounds and unusual consonant clusters that often puzzle non-native speakers. Come discover the charm of Polish with us! Let’s celebrate together 20 years of Poland in the EU!

Polish Institute Brussels tent – programme

10:00-18:00
Poland in the EU – 20th Anniversary Guestbook
Share your wishes for Poland and the Poles as we continue our journey in the EU, and reflect on your memories from 2004 to 2024, shaped by European values—freedom, democracy, and equality.

12:00-17:00
Photobooth
Take a photo with your friends and family, holding the Polish and EU flags. Capture this moment to celebrate your place in the vibrant European community.

12:30 & 15:30
“Polish is my superpower!” – Language Workshop for Foreigners 
Take on the challenge and learn basic Polish phrases with Maciej Mielnik from the University of Mons & ULB. Discover your options for learning Polish in Belgium, in Poland, and remotely.  Duration: 30 min.

16:30-18:00
Writers’ corner
Meet Polish writers living in Belgium: Grażyna Plebanek, Dionisios Sturis, and Dorota Walczak-Delanois. Find out more about their work and experiences. Chats and autographs.
Moderation: Marta Bark-Stelmaszczyk. Translation into English, French, and Dutch will be possible.

Grażyna Plebanek / photo: Rafał Masłow

Grażyna Plebanek – a novelist, columnist, and writer of film scripts, plays, and short stories. Her works are published in Polish, English, French, and Dutch. Since 2005, she has lived in Brussels, after previously residing in Stockholm for 5 years. Her writing explores themes of womanhood and self-discovery through our relationships with our bodies, the places we live, and our interactions with others. Author of the subjective guidebook “Brussels. The Animal in the City”. Her most recent book is titled “Madmuazelka”. Read more.

Dionisios Sturis / photo: Łukasz Giza

Dionisios Sturis – a non-fiction author, podcaster, and journalist. He was a long-time reporter for Radio TOK FM and is now a senior audio producer at POLITICO Europe in Brussels. He has received multiple nominations for prestigious reporting awards, including the Ryszard Kapuściński Award. He won the Arkady Fiedler Prize and the Traveller magazine award for best travel book. He writes reportage books that combine journalism with a literary approach (PL: “Gorzkie pomarańcze”, “Nowe życie. Jak Polacy pomogli uchodźcom z Grecji”). He is also the author of best-selling Greek cookbooks, as well as the children’s book. Read more.

Dorota Walczak-Delanois

Dorota Walczak-Delanois – a poet, translator, and lecturer. Her interests include feminism, the avant-garde, and the relationship between poetry and the visual arts. She is a professor at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), where she leads the Chair of Polish Studies (Responsable de la Chaire d’études polonaises à l’ULB – Faculté LTC). Her work focuses on Polish and Belgian poetry from the 20th and 21st centuries within a broader comparative, cultural, and historical context. She has published a book of poetry featuring her own hand-drawn illustrations (PL: “Morze północne”, NL: “Noordzee”, translated by Kris Van Heuckelom). Read more.

Marta Bark-Stelmaszczyk – a graduate of the painting faculty of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. She left painting to pursue journalism. She worked as a reporter and presenter of news programs, including on Polsat and TVP television. She has been living in Brussels for 15 years, associated with European institutions and Polish social organizations (Brukselski Klub Polek, Kongres Polek w Brukseli). She is a passionate fan of social media, which she uses to comment on the surrounding reality.

Polish Day in Brussels is organized by the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Brussels, Sztabki & Polska Macierz Szkolna w Belgii in collaboration with the Permanent Representation of the Republic of Poland to the European Union, the Polish Tourism Organization, the Polish Institute Brussels, and the Permanent Representation of the Republic of Poland to NATO. The event is supported by the offices of Polish regions: Dolnośląskie, Dom Polski Wschodniej, Kujawsko-Pomorskie, Małopolskie, Mazowieckie, Opolskie, Śląskie, Zachodniopomorskie. With the assistance of our strategic sponsor – Allegro, concert sponsor – Magabel, airline partner – LOT Polish Airlines, as well as BPI, Comarch and MaxiClean.

For more information and updates, visit https://fb.me/e/20eUNsNn6