BRUSSELS — Even before they face off tomorrow night in Seattle, Belgium and the the United States are already at loggerheads over America’s birthday celebrations.
U.S. Ambassador to Belgium Bill White insisted that Brussels’ historic Parc du Cinquantenaire was left spotless after his lavish festivities marking 250 years of American independence, as Belgian authorities probe whether fireworks damaged one of the capital’s historic buildings.
“We are in immediate contact with the Belgian company that was hired to coordinate all event logistics, including the fireworks company,” White wrote on X on Friday. He said the contractor would “remediate where it is required” and insisted that “Cinquantenaire has never looked any cleaner than it was the day after we cleaned up after our event,” posting photographs of the park looking immaculate.
More than 8,800 invited guests attended the June 28 celebration — one of the biggest diplomatic receptions ever staged in Brussels — organized by White, featuring a large fireworks display beneath the triumphal arch and a gala held in Cinquantenaire’s Royal Museum of Art and History building.
The ambassador’s response came after Flemish newspapers De Standaard and Het Nieuwsblad reported that Belgium’s Buildings Agency had opened an investigation into possible damage to the museum.
The Building Authority confirmed that “fireworks debris was found on the roof, and certain limited areas of the roof appear blackened” in a statement to POLITICO, adding that “analyses are still ongoing” before being able to comment on the scope of any repair work.
Belgian Buildings Minister Vanessa Matz has urged caution, saying investigators must first determine whether any damage was caused by the fireworks display or by the severe thunderstorm that swept across Brussels the previous night. The celebration reportedly cost around €5 million, with White raising the money from roughly 220 Belgian and American companies.