# Timeline of Brussels (21st century)

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PrehistoryNeolithic flint mines of Spiennes 4300–2200 BC :
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Early Middle Ages Franks   Merovingians 481–751 Carolingians 751–987 Prince-Bishopric of Liège 980–1789 :
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19th century Dutch rule 1815–30 Belgian Revolution 1830–31 Reign of Leopold I 1831–65 • Treaty of London1839 Reign of Leopold II 1865–1909 • School War 1879–84 • Congo Free State 1885–1908 :
20th and 21st centuries Belgian Congo1908–60 Reign of Albert I1909–34 World War I1914–18 • Invasion1914 • Atrocities1914 • German occupation1914–18 Ruanda-Urundi1922–62 Reign of Leopold III1934–51 World War II 1940–45 • Invasion 1940 • German occupation1940–44 • Holocaust1941–44 Royal Question1944–50 Reign of Baudouin1951–93 Reign of Albert II1993–2013 Reign of Philippe 2013~ :
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The following is a timeline of the history of Brussels, Belgium, in the 21st century.

## 2001–2009

* 2001
** Tour & Taxis begins redevelopment.
** The first Bronze Zinneke is presented to Johan Verminnen.
** 9 January: The first EXKi fast casual restaurant opens at the Namur Gate.
** 16 January: Freddy Thielemans is elected mayor for the second time.
** 26 February: FM Brussel is launched, as the campus radio of RITS.
** 17 April–8 June: The Butare Four are tried in the city for war crimes during the Rwandan genocide, marking Belgium's first conviction for crimes committed abroad under international law.
** 28 April: Police Zone: Brussels - Ixelles [nl] is formed as the sixth police zone in the city.
** 13 July: The Lambermont Accord [nl; fr] is signed, increasing the representation of Dutch speakers in the Brussels Parliament.
** 25 October: Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant is born at Erasmus Hospital.
* 2002
** The first Brussels Summer Festival [nl; fr] is held.
** 7 May: Ahmed Isnasni and Habiba El-Hajji are shot dead by their neighbour, Hendrik Vyt, at their residence in Schaerbeek. Vyt also wounds two of their sons before committing self-immolation.
** 1 September: The Jules Bordet Royal Athenaeum [fr] becomes part of Institut technique de la Communauté française Chômé-Wyns and changes it name to Leonardo da Vinci Royal Athenaeum.
** 10 December: The Film Museum [nl; fr] in integrated into CINEMATEK.
* 2003
** The first Brusseleir van’t joêr [nl] is presented to Roger Van de Voorde.
** 13 March: The Iris Festival is created by ordinance.
** 6 June: Daniel Ducarme becomes Minister-President.
** 26 June: Brasserie de la Senne is established; The Institute for the Encouragement of Scientific Research and Innovation of Brussels is established by ordinance.
** 20 September: The Bibliotheca Wittockiana opens to the public.
* 2004
** The North Galaxy Towers are built.
** 16 January: Kosovar teacher and independence activist Musa Hoti is assassinated by the UDBA after multiple failed attempts.
** 18 February: Jacques Simonet becomes Minister-President for the second time.
** 1 March–17 June: The trial of the Dutroux affair takes place.
** 14–17 April: The BRussells Tribunal is held as part of the World Tribunal on Iraq.
** 28 June: The Vlaams-Nederlands Huis [nl] is established by the Dutch and Flemish governments to promote the culture of the Low Countries.
* 2005
** The first Be Film Festival is held.
** 19 July: The BELvue Museum opens in the Hôtel Belle-Vue; Charles Picqué becomes Minister-President for the second time.
* 2006
** The Atomium is renovated.
** 6 March: Tram line 24 begins service.
** 12 April: Joe Van Holsbeeck is fatally stabbed at Brussels-Central railway station in an attempted robbery of his MP3 player.
** 29 August: Benjamin Rawitz-Castel is murdered during a robbery by Junior Kabunda.
** 17 September: The Cyclocity bicycle-sharing system is launched in the Pentagon.
** 23–29 September: Riots break out in the Marolles after Fayçal Chaaban is found dead in his cell.
** 8 October: Brussels municipal elections are held.
* 2007
** The Hogeschool-Universiteit Brussel (HUB) is established.
** 25 March: Brussels Airlines is formed.
** 25 May: The WIELS contemporary art centre opens in the former Wielemans-Ceuppens brewery.
** 2 July: Tram line 4 begins service.
** 28 September: The Manga murder occurs.
* 2008
** Denis-Adrien Debouvrie, a wealthy local restaurant owner and creator of Jeanneke Pis, is fatally stabbed by the Tunisian restaurant owner Tarek Ladhari.
** The first Brussels Gallery Weekend is held.
** The first Offscreen Film Festival is held.
** 30 June: Tram lines 3 and 51 commence service.
** November: The Meyboom is added to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity as part of 'Processional giants and dragons in Belgium and France'.
* 2009
** The Stoclet Palace is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
** 4 April: Reorganisation of the Metro resulted in the creation of lines 1, 5, and 6.
** 16 May: Cyclocity is rebranded to Villo! and expanded to the whole region.
** 2 June: The Magritte Museum opens.
** 18 June: The Marc Sleen Museum is opened in the presence of Marc Sleen, as well as King Albert II.
** 17 November: Olivier Bastin is appointed the first Architect of the Brussels-Capital Region [nl].
** 12 December: The funeral of Queen Fabiola takes place.

## 2010–2019

* 2010
** Population of the Brussels-Capital Region: 1,089,538.
** 18 January: André-Joseph Léonard is appointed Archbishop of Mechelen–Brussels.
** 24 November: The Cercle de Lorraine is reestablished at the Hôtel de Mérode-Westerloo [nl].
** 26–29 November: The European Assembly for Climate Justice is held.
* 2011 – 14 March: Tram line 7 begins operations, replacing the routes previously covered by lines lines 23 and 24.
* 2012
** 13 March: Muslim scholar Abdullah al-Dahdouh is murdered in an unprovoked attack in the Islamic Center of Imam Reza.
** 10 June: The first Picnic the Streets [nl; fr] occurs.
** 14 October: Brussels municipal elections are held.
** 2–4 November: The first Brussels Beer Challenge [nl] is held in the Stock Exchange.
* 2013
** The first Brusseleir vè’t Leive [nl] is presented to Claude Lammens.
** 19 February: Be.brusseleir [nl] is formed.
** 7 May: Rudi Vervoort becomes Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region.
** 21 July: King Philippe takes the constitutional oath at the Palace of the Nation.
** 6 December: The Fin-de-Siècle Museum opens.
** 13 December: Yvan Mayeur is elected mayor.
* 2014
** 1 January: Odisee [nl; fr] is established.
** 10 March: Vlaams-Brusselse Media forms.
** 8 May: The Parc Tour et Taxis/Thurn en Taxispark [nl; fr] opens to the public.
** 23 May: Choco-Story Brussels is established.
** 24 May: The Jewish Museum of Belgium shooting occurs, killing 4.
** 3 June: UP-site [nl; fr] is officially opened.
** 18 June: The .brussels generic top-level domain is added to the DNS root zone.
** 1 July: The Governor of the Administrative Arrondissement Brussels-Capital is replaced with the Senior Official of the Administrative Arrondissement Brussels-Capital.
* 2015
** 9 January: The Brussels-Capital Region adopts a new flag.
** 25 September: Train World opens in Schaerbeek railway station.
** 6 November: Jozef De Kesel is appointed Archbishop of Mechelen–Brussels.
** 21–25 November: The Federal Government imposes a security lockdown, due to information about potential terrorist attacks in the wake of the November 2015 Paris attacks by ISIL on 13 November.
** 11 December: Art & Design Atomium Museum opens.
** 13 December: The Brussels S Train begins operating.
* 2016
** 8 March: The CIVA [fr] architectural centre is established.
** 15–18 March: Police raids are conducted in connection to the attacks in Paris four months earlier.
** 22 March: The Brussels bombings occur, killing 34 and injuring 230.
** 4 April: The Schuman-Josaphat tunnel opens.
** 15 April: The Millennium Iconoclast Museum of Art (MIMA) opens.
** 5 October: The Brussels stabbing attacks occur, 4 injured including the suspect.
* 2017
** Parts of the Sonian Forest becomes part of the transnational 'Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe' UNESCO World Heritage Site.
** 8 January: The Village, an open-air food court part of Bruparck [nl; fr] closes to make way for the NEO [nl] project.
** 6 May: The House of European History (HEH) opens.
** 25 May: NATO's new headquarters open.
** 31 May: Samusocial scandal [nl; fr] breaks in the Brussels Parliament.
** 8 June: Yvan Mayor resigns as mayor following the Samusocial scandal.
** 9 June: Philippe Close is appointed mayor by the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region.
** 20 June: The Brussels-Central bombing occurs, killing the perpetrator.
** 25 August: The Brussels stabbing attack occurs, killing the perpetrator and injuring 2.
** 7 December: 45,000 people gather in the city for Wake Up Europe! in support of Catalan independence.
* 2018
** 5 May: KANAL - Centre Pompidou pre-opens in the former Citroën Garage.
** 12 May: Manneken Pis receives his 1000th costume, created by fashion designer Jean-Paul Lespagnard [fr].
** 5 June: Nigerian sex worker Eunice Osayande is fatally stabbed by a client. Her death leads to protests by migrant sex worker communities.
** 20 June: The reestablished Brussels International Film Festival is held.
** 2 December: The first School Strike for Climate occurs in the city, drawing 65,000 people to the streets.
** 30 September: Océade, an waterpark part of Bruparck closes to make way for the NEO project.
** 14 October: Brussels municipal elections are held.
** 20 November: The Brussels stabbing attack occurs, injuring 2 including the perpetrator.
* 2019
** 1–5 May: The city celebrates 150 years of trams and 30 years of the Brussels-Capital Region with a historic tram procession and the European Tramdriver Championship.
** 26 May: Brussels regional elections are held.
** 6 July: The 2019 Tour de France starts in the city.
** 12 October: The MigratieMuseumMigration opens.
** 11 December: The Ommegang is added to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
** 14 December: Wolf Sharing Food Market [nl] opens in the former ASLK/CGER counter room, becoming the city's first food market.

## 2020–2029

* 2020
** 2 February: The first recorded case of COVID-19 in Belgium after nine Belgian nationals living in Hubei are repatriated.
** 11 March: The first COVID-19 related death in Belgium is confirmed of a 90-year-old female patient who was being treated in Etterbeek.
** 18 March: The city joins the rest of Belgium in a nationwide lockdown that lasts until 8 June in an attempt to reduce the number of cases.
** 7 June: About 10,000 protesters gather as part of the George Floyd protests in Belgium.
** 4 December: Speculoos is added to the Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage [nl] in response to Lotus Bakeries renaming it "Biscoff" in Belgium.
* 2021
** 14 January: Riots erupt [nl] following the death of Ibrahima Barrie in police custody.
** 26 February: The Bridge Productions is established as the first professional English theatre company in the city.
** 10 October: The Back to the Climate [nl] protest occurs on the eve of COP26, with police reporting 25,000 participants and organisers claiming 50,000 to 70,000.
* 2022
** 24 January: More than 50,000 people protest against COVID-19 rules.
** 20 June: Patrice Lumumba's children receive their father's remains during a ceremony at the Egmont Palace.
** 10 July: The Uber Files are published, revealing that Uber extensively lobbied regional transport minister Pascal Smet.
** 30 September: Haren Prison opens.
** 4 October: The Suzan Daniel Bridge [nl] opens over the Brussels–Scheldt Maritime Canal.
** 10 November: The Brussels stabbing occurs, killing 1 and injuring 2 including the perpetrator.
** 5 December: The trial of the perpetrators of the 2016 Brussels bombings begins.
** 9 December: Police raids related to Qatargate are conducted across the city, leading to arrests in Belgium and Italy.
* 2023
** 12 January: The Fuse temporarily closes after Brussels Environment [nl; fr] restricts its operations due to a noise complaint. In direct response, clubbing culture is added to the Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage a few months later.
** 18 May: The Archives of the International Solvay Conferences on Physics and Chemistry are added to the Memory of the World Register.
** 22 June: Luc Terlinden is appointed Archbishop of Mechelen–Brussels.
** 9 September: Belgian Beer World [nl] opens in the former Brussels Stock Exchange building, with the main hall now free and open to the public for the first time.
** 14 September: The Université Saint-Louis – Bruxelles becomes part of Université catholique de Louvain.
** 16 October: The Brussels shooting occurs, killing 3 including the perpetrator and injuring 1.
** 18 December: The largest criminal trial in Belgian history begins in the city following the shutdown of Sky Global.
* 2024
** The Marc Sleen Museum closes and is integrated into the Belgian Comic Strip Center.
** 1 February: The Monument to John Cockerill is vandalised during a farmers' protest in front of the European Parliament.
** 9 June: Brussels regional elections are held.
** 23 September: Tram line 10 and 35 [fr] begin service taking over most of the route of line 3 which was disbanded.
** 26–29 September: Pope Francis visits the city, presiding over a mass at King Baudouin Stadium, where he beatifies Anne of Jesus and announces the initiation of King Baudouin's beatification process.
** 13 October: Brussels municipal elections are held.
** 19 November: An investigation by Pano [nl] uncovers fraud and clientelism within the Public Centre for Social Welfare of Anderlecht; The elections in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode are declared invalid by the Judicial Council of the Brussels Regional Parliament.
* 2025
** 5 February: The first in a series of shootings linked to drug trafficking occurred at Clemenceau metro station, prompting the closure of several metro lines for a few hours as the perpetrators fled into the tunnels.
** 7 February: Following four shootings in the span of a few days, the six separate police zones in the city temporarily start working under one command.
** 9 February: Emir Kir is re-elected mayor in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode after the previous elections were declared invalid.
** 13 February; Massive protests and a strike are held against plans by the De Wever government to reduce public services, resulting in stoppages of bus and tram systems and partial disruptions at Brussels Airport.
** 21 February: David Leisterh [nl; fr] resigns as formateur, marking the first time this has happened since the region's creation.