The 19th Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, meeting in Asunción (Republic of Paraguay) from 2 to 7 December, has added the fairground culture of France and Belgium to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Almost four years ago, in January 2021, the Brussels Capital Region added the living fairground culture to the inventory of regional Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) coordinated by Urban.
This addition, the result of close collaboration between the Association de la Défense des Forains Belges (Association for the Defence of Belgian Fairground operators) and Urban, has enabled a more ambitious process to take shape, with the aim of submitting a bi-national registration dossier to UNESCO, supported jointly by France and Belgium. Launched by the Musée des Arts forains de Bercy in Paris and supported by the fairground community in Belgium and France, this project has taken over ten years to prepare and coordinate, and Urban is proud to have supported it and coordinated its follow-up.
This is the first multinational intangible heritage dossier to be submitted by the Brussels Region, acting on behalf of all Belgium's federated entities.
The Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity currently comprises 611 elements from 140 States, to which the Franco-Belgian dossier submitted by the Brussels Capital Region has now been added.
→Browse the application of fairground culture in France and Belgium
Fairground culture in Brussels
The fairground community comprises some 850 family businesses throughout Belgium, employing approximately 7,000 people - including around 75 in Brussels. Belgium's biggest fair, the Foire du Midi, attracts almost 1.5 million visitors over five weeks, revealing the enduring popular success of the funfair.
More than a "simple" entertainment activity, fairground culture represents an itinerant way of life in which family and professional lives are closely intertwined, and whose traditions and expertise, developed over the years, are essentially passed on orally within the community and within the family.
With its roots in medieval fairs, its modern form developed at the end of the 19th century, taking advantage of the technical advances of the time. Fairground culture, present in France, Belgium and throughout Europe, is a living heritage, thanks to the unique spirit and solidarity within the community, across all borders.
→Explore the Brussels Foire du Midi with Urban's photo report
A unifying element for all
Fairground operators are tradition-bearers. They are present at the official openings of local festivals, punctuating the annual calendar of the towns and villages they pass through.
What sets the Brussels Region apart is that its fairs often last for several weekends (whereas in Flanders or Wallonia, they are often limited to one weekend) and return several times a year to the same municipality. With almost 40 funfairs held each year in the 19 municipalities of Brussels, this living cultural heritage is an integral part of the urban fabric.
A shared lifestyle and culture
Fairgrounds are a place of solidarity, exchange and identity for the vast European fairground community. Families meet up and share their experiences from one fairground to the next, reinforcing a common cultural bond, even after they have left the profession.
For visitors, the funfair is the perfect place for intergenerational experiences, bringing together people from different backgrounds. It is therefore unique in terms of social and cultural diversity.
A living, evolving heritage
Hosted by local authorities, fairs bring towns and villages to life, often complementing other cultural events such as carnivals, annual markets and seasonal festivals. This living heritage continues to captivate and unite people with its unique traditions, attractions and appeal.
However, measures to safeguard and pass on this multi-faceted way of life and tradition are essential if they are to survive, even though they are all too often misunderstood and even marginalised.
The 19th Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, meeting in Asunción (Republic of Paraguay) from 2 to 7 December, has therefore added the fairground culture of France and Belgium to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
This Belgian-French application, which had previously received a favourable opinion from the UNESCO Evaluation Body, reflects exemplary European cooperation, involving representatives of fairground communities and their unions, the Musée des arts forains in Paris, which coordinated the writing of the application, academic and museum experts, and associations such as Le Petit Cheval de Bois in France and the Musée de Saint-Ghislain in Belgium.