Inflight Magazine of Brussels Airlines

DIARY

1-7 Brussels European Film Festival (www.fffb.be)

The Brussels Film Festival is now in its fifth year, and in keeping with the warm weather, it will be putting on free open-air screenings every night on Place St-Croix by the Flagey theatre. Most of the work shown will be first or second films from European directors, but there will also be a smattering of international films on the bill.

1-13 Festival de Marseille (www.festivaldemarseille.com)

Originally conceived as a platform to bring performance art to a wider audience, the Marseille Festival was first staged in 1996. Now in its 11th year, there is still a huge range of performances on the programme – disciplines on display run the gamut from contemporary dance and theatre to music and film.

1-15 Frederikssund Viking Pageant (www.vikingespil.dk)

For two weeks in July, the Danish town of Frederikssund goes berserk for all things Viking. Drawing their inspiration from ancient Scandinavian folklore, over 250 people will be donning Viking costumes and putting on open-air plays that recreate all the energy and drama of this bygone era.

4-31 Budapest Budafest Summer Music Festival (www.viparts.hu)

Held in the Hilton Hotel’s Dominica courtyard and St Stephan’s Basilica, this series of summertime concerts will kick off with music from the Miskolc Symphony Orchestra and go on to feature flamenco, klezmer, ragtime and the 100-Member Gypsy Orchestra. The festival will conclude with Bizet’s opera Carmen, staged in the Budapest Opera House.

6-17 Ghent Blue Note Records Festival (www.bluenoterecordsfestival.com)

Once again the great and good of the jazz world will be descending on Ghent for 11 days. Highlights include performances from nu-soul chanteuse India.Arie, new-wave legend Elvis Costello and venerable Belgian jazz musician Toots Thielemans, as well as appearances from DJ Shadow and Sly and the Family Stone

15 London Rise: London United festival (www.risefestival.org)

Organised by the Mayor of London’s office to celebrate ethnic diversity in the city, London’s free music festival returns to Finsbury Park this year. The festival will feature big name acts on the main stage, as well as a host of entertainment on six smaller stages, a children’s play area and a fairground.

14-15 Venice Festa del Redentore (www.turismovenezia.it)

Venice’s best-loved festival is held to commemorate the end of the 16th-century plague. Festivities begin early on Saturday, when Venetians decorate their boats and terraces. During the day, around 2,000 garlanded boats swell St Mark’s Basin and the Giudecca Canal in preparation for a spectacular evening firework display. After a night of music and singing, the boats gather at the Lido at sunrise.

14-27 Madrid Madama Butterfly (www.teatro-real.com)

July will see the Teatro Real stage a two-week run of Giacomo Puccini’s most famous opera, accompanied by the Madrid Symphony Orchestra. The story, which documents geisha Cio Cio San’s interminable wait for her erstwhile American husband Pinkerton, has won the hearts of generations of opera goers since its premiere in 1904.

20-29 Hamburg Duckstein Festival (www.ducksteinfestival.de)

Set along the banks of the Elbe and the Alster Lake, the Duckstein Festival serves up art and culture in a stunning waterside setting. This year, 300 performers will take part in the festivities and the entertainment will range from street theatre and comedy to live Latin music.

30 July – 5 Aug Stockholm Stockholm Pride (www.stockholmpride.org)

One of the city’s largest annual festivals, Stockholm’s seventh Pride will pull in partygoers from all over Scandinavia. Celebrations include concerts at the 10,000 capacity Pride Park and exhibitions at Pride House, and will culminate in the famous parade that sees the city’s gay and lesbian community take to the streets in colourful style.

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