18-metre-high Christmas tree goes up in Brussels

Brussels decorated its 18-meter high Christmas tree on Sunday in the middle of the Grand Place, the UNESCO World Heritage main city square. The Christmas tree and the nativity scene next to it will be the only Christmas events organized by the city of Brussels, as the annual Christmas market has been cancelled because of COVID-19 restrictions.

The five-ton tree was cut last week in the Hautes-Fagnes region in Belgium and brought to the capital by special convoy. It took today nine hours to be decorated with the equivalent of one kilometer of Christmas tinsel and 250 flower-shaped lights - symbols of revival. The Christmas tree and all the Brussels Christmas illuminations will be switched on Tuesday.