Rollers, the finale!

BRUSSELS 13 MONDAY SEPTEMBER 2, 2002 Rollers, the finale! A heavenly rain of candies refreshed the 6,000 skaters BRUSSELS - Elio Di Rupo on a bicycle and Freddy Thielemans at the microphone. The headliners of the last edition of the Rollers Parade, Friday night, at the foot of the courthouse, played it low-key. The true stars of the evening were indeed the small wheels of the skaters. Aligned or in a square, grey, red or sparkling like mini-fireworks as soon as they set off, these famous wheels trod the Brussels asphalt for nearly three hours. Joined along the way by countless fans, the skaters numbered over 6,000 at the end of the route. It was time for the season to end. With such success, it was the café owners of Brussels who should have put on skates to fill their terraces. They wouldn't have convinced Arthur and Louis anyway. These two kids, aged 10 and 12, were on their second Friday. More initiated, their parents spent most of the ride carrying them on their shoulders. "They are more impressed by the crowd than by the fact of going through the tunnels on rollers," explains their dad. Rollercops in the lead, the long procession moves gently towards the Bois de la Cambre. On the road, three joyful balancing acts attempt a break-away. A clamor suddenly thunders in the middle of Boulevard Emile Jacqmain. "Candies, candies!" nearly 2,000 people start shouting with their heads in the air. And then, a miracle! A rain of candies begins to melt over the skaters who thank the sky for its generosity. That night, the sky was American and lived on the fifth floor. As for our national Freddy, he preferred the cleats of the King Baudouin Stadium to the rollers of Place Poelaert. "I had promised them," he explained as an excuse. It will be for the next edition, perhaps on September 20. M. L. [Photo caption]: The last official wheel turns of the Rollers Parade 2002 took place on Friday evening. Once again, skaters were numerous. (WP)