Concert at NOVUM as a prelude to National Day on 20 July 2026

On Monday 20 July at 8.00 pm, a free concert will kick off the National Day celebrations, in the presence of the King and Queen. This classical music concert has been organised by the Queen Elisabeth Competition in partnership with the Belgian National Orchestra, and with the support of the FPS Chancellery of the Prime Minister and the players of the National Lottery.

Exceptionally this year, the concert will be held in the Art Deco Hall of NOVUM (2 Rue Père Eudore Devroye in Etterbeek).

Programme

This year's soloist is violinist Elli Choi, who won Third Prize at the 2024 Queen Elisabeth Competition. She will be accompanied by the Belgian National Orchestra, conducted by Hankyeol Yoon.

The concert will open with The Hebrides (Fingal’s Cave) by Felix Mendelssohn. Elli Choi will then perform Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1. The orchestra will also play The Noon Witch by Antonín Dvořák before closing the evening with the famous Waltz from the Mascarade Suite by Aram Khachaturian.

Tickets

We’re sorry, but all tickets for this year’s 2026 concert have been allocated. Bookings are now closed.

However, the concert will be broadcast live on RTBF Musiq3 and Klara and on RTBF La Trois and RTBF Auvio. VRT Canvas will broadcast the prelude on Tuesday 21 July at 2pm and from then on it can also be viewed on VRT MAX.