Tens of thousands of Belgians took part in the grand popular festival

Tens of thousands of Belgians took part on Sunday in the various activities organized to mark the ten-year reign of Albert II. Members of the royal family also took part in the popular festival, with the King notably kicking off the Motorbike Parade, a ride of 20,000 motorcyclists starting from the Atomium and crisscrossing the streets of the capital. On the occasion of this parade organized by the MotorCycle Council, Albert II was awarded the title of "First Motorcyclist of the Country". He also received a custom-made leather vest from the "Blue Knights", an international group of motorcyclists from police forces with over 300 members in Belgium. Although he sat on the Harley Davidson of Brussels Mayor Freddy Thielemans, Albert II did not hit the road alongside the other motorcyclists. The sovereign had indeed recently announced his decision to definitively give up traveling on two wheels. The festivities had begun earlier in the day with an aperitif concert at the Egmont Palace. Shortly after noon, Prince Laurent and Princess Claire kicked off the "Roller Parade" starting from Cinquantenaire, in which around 600 people participated. For his part, Philippe took part in an 8.5-kilometer bicycle ride through the streets of Brussels, an event that brought together 1,100 people. Meanwhile, Princess Astrid, Prince Lorenz and their children attended a performance of the children's circus "Kindercircus". The royal family then gathered in full at Laeken for a garden party to which 2,000 people were invited, including 880 "ordinary" citizens. A cow as a gift from the government On this occasion, the King received an original gift from the federal government: a life-sized cow decorated by two artists as part of the "Art on cows" exhibition currently taking place in the capital. With this gift, the government wished to highlight the King's sense of humor. And Guy Verhofstadt indicated that consideration had first been given to entrusting the decoration of the ruminant to Marc Eyskens and Rik Daems. "But Marc Eyskens only paints sad still lifes, which was not suitable for the celebration. As for Rik Daems, he is so excessive and daring with paint that I feared the cow would succumb," joked the Prime Minister, recalling, more seriously, the important role played by the King for democracy in Belgium. After a musical interlude, 11 ten-year-old children brought out the sovereign's birthday cake. Rain took the opportunity to make an appearance, forcing guests to seek shelter under the trees of the estate. Place du Jeu de Balle At the end of the day, the royal family attended a concert at the Center for Fine Arts (Palais des Beaux-Arts), with the exception of Laurent and Claire who had an appointment at Place du Jeu de Balle for a popular ball that gathered around 14,000 people. The stage saw performances by artists such as Jaune Toujours, Johan Verminnen, Annie Cordy and Grand Jojo. A group of singers then covered famous hits chosen by the public via SMS. Laurent and Claire made their appearance on stage alongside the mayor of Brussels, Freddy Thielemans, and the Minister-President of Brussels, Daniel Ducarme. (With Belga)