Iris Day 2011

This page has been automatically translated from French into English by a translation software. Automatic translations are not as accurate as translations made by professional human translators. Nevertheless these pages can help you understand information published by the City of Brussels.

The Brussels Capital Region celebrates the Iris Day each year in early May. The festival will take place on 7 and 8 May 2011.

The program includes free concerts, a festival in the streets and an open day at the Brussels Parliament. The Brussels Capital Region is celebrating its 22nd anniversary.

Origin of the Brussels Capital Region

Since 18 June 1989, date of the first regional elections, the Brussels Capital Region is an autonomous region comparable to the Walloon and Flemish Regions. This goes back to 1970 when the revision of the constitution created 3 regions: the Walloon Region, the Flemish Region and the Brussels Region. The principle of 3 regions was accepted but the setting up of the regions was postponed. It was the special law of 12 January 1989 that created the Brussels Capital Region on the territory of 19 municipalities. The Brussels Region then started its own legislative and executive institutions.

The iris as emblem

Since 1991, the iris is the emblem of the Brussels Region. This choice was made because of the long presence of the plant in the region. The sign of the iris is now the emblem for all regional institutions of Brussels.

Originally, the territory of Brussels was widely covered with swamps. Brussels resulted from a small Carolingian village (Bruocsella) in the valley of the Senne. On 5 March 1991, the Regional Council of Brussels decided to choose the iris as emblem of the region. A big public contest was organized to define the shape. After some time, the emblem by Jacques Richez became the winner.