"Belgium Rollers": rollerblade parades in 7 cities during the summer

(BELGA) = Do not say "Brussels Rollers" anymore, but rather "Belgium Rollers"! Next summer, seven Belgian cities will indeed host the rollerblading (or inline skating) parades launched last year in the capital. Besides Brussels, enthusiasts will be able to enjoy themselves to their heart's content in Mons, Namur, Liège, Hasselt, Koksijde, and Ghent, announced the Mayor of Brussels, Freddy Thielemans, on Wednesday during a press conference. In July and August 2002, with five parades organized, more than 30,000 participants were counted by the project's initiators, namely the City of Brussels and Carl De Moncharline. The roller-skating police brigade, also called "roller cops", has been expanded for 2003 to 18 members, all volunteers, specified the Chief Commissioner of Brussels, Roland Van Reusel. Their task is to escort the participants at the front of the procession. Several volunteer police officers from the cities of Mons, Namur, Hasselt, and Ghent will receive training in the coming weeks to be able to skate in this type of event in turn. "In Mons, we already have 22 volunteer candidates," specified the city's mayor, Elio Di Rupo. "In Brussels, however, the mission of the 'roller cops' is limited to escorting the parade and patrolling places such as the Bois de la Cambre," explained Mr. Van Reusel, who believes that the city has far too many cobblestones to travel on rollerblades daily for police missions. The "Belgium Rollers" tour will take off in late June or early July, every evening starting at 9:00 PM in Hasselt (Mondays), Namur (Tuesdays), Ghent (Wednesdays, except July 23 and 30), Liège (Thursdays), Brussels (Fridays), Mons (Saturdays), and Koksijde (Sundays July 20 and August 24). The holding of the parade will naturally depend on weather conditions. Information on the website: http://www.belgiumrollers.com .