New €2m visit.brussels venue rental subsidy fund available for organisers

Tourism organisation visit.brussels recently launched €2m (US$2.3m) fund to encourage organisers to choose Brussels as a destination for future events. Authorities in the Belgian capital have announced a call for projects,  open until September 2020, with the aim of offering financial support to B2B event organisers (for events with at least 200 participants, and an overnight stay in Brussels). The support is in the form of a subsidy which must be injected into the rental payment of the event venue, whether it takes place now or in the future. Up to €50,000 (US$58,000) is available per eligible event. Rudi Vervoort, minister-president of the Brussels-Capital Region, said: “Brussels is ranked first in Europe and second in the world for congresses, according to the Union of International Associations (UIA) and business tourism accounts for 52% of overnight stays in the Brussels-Capital Region. It is clear that the congress and associations sector is crucial to Brussels’ economy and influence. The coronavirus crisis has had a very negative impact on the latter with the cancellation of events. With visit.brussels’ relaunch plan and the creation of this support fund, we are doing everything in our power to boost the industry and support its actors.” This call for projects is aimed directly at national and international associations and federations, NGOs, public interest foundations, event agencies and private companies. For more information o eligibility criteria and the procedure to follow, click here.