Don't miss the Zineke Parade 2022

Updated on May 4, 2022 by pierre

Zinneke Parade 2022 an event not to be missed

You've probably read its name on an advertising poster, but you don't know what it is: the Zinneke parade. You are in the right place. In this article, we shed light on its origin, its program and the dates of the Zinneke parade 2022 in Brussels.

Every two years, the city of Brussels honors this “Zinneken Parade”. It is therefore an event that all good Brussels residents know and appreciate.

A Zinne-koi?

This word originates from Brabant, a Brusseleir dialect. Zinneke comes from "Zenne", the Brussels name of the river Senne which crosses Brussels. We add the diminutive -ke.
At the start of the 21st century, rats invaded Brussels…. because of the Senne which ran through the city and crossed it. It was, in a way, his open sewer. To prevent their proliferation, the people of Brussels have adapted dogs…. left free. These reproduce all over the place. This gave birth to many mongrel dogs. In order to get rid of dogs without breed, the people of Brussels began to drown them in the Senne.

The Zinneke were therefore originally these mongrel dogs without breed. So we call " Zinneke » any animal or even person of mixed origins.

What is the zinneke parade?

Every two years, the Zinneke Parade returns and invades the center of our capital: Brussels. During this moving and multicultural show, around 20 projects directly supported by the people of Brussels (and artists) are staged.

In short, everyone moves and parades during this free event !

The origin of the Brussels Zinneke parade

We could say that this parade was born after the year 2000 bug (which didn't really happen). It takes place every the 2 years. It has therefore already been at least 10 times since the parade took place. It is therefore part of the vocabulary that every Brussels resident knows.

This parade was created as part of the project "Brussels 2000", European Capital of Culture. Townspeople and artists gather in order to highlight the values and cultural richness of our Belgian capital. Thanks to that mobilization of various cultural associations, 19 municipalities in the Brussels region come together. It doesn't matter if they are from Brussels, Dutch-speaking, French-speaking or other… Everyone appreciates it.

From the first edition is restored an enormous momentum without borders. Since then, every two years, the parade has grown and continues to delight even more people. She will still be talked about, we are sure of that.

As a reminder, here is how it evolved:

2002, theme “ Zinnergy crossed the capital from north to south.
In 2004, from De Brouckère to Anneessens, with the theme " The body in the city ».
2006, circular route theme “ Coming soon"
2008, downtown tower. Theme "Water/Water".
2010, part of 4 separate squares to finally form a circle and sit all together”A table / Aan tafel".
2012, tour in Brussels, theme “Disorder/Wanorde".
2014, "Temptation/Bekoring".
2016, pedestrian zone tower, the “Fragile” theme
2018 Theme “ILLEGAL".
2022 "Wolves! / To the wolves ".
2022: to be continued!