Brussels' Grand Place transformed into a giant flower carpet

Brussels' historic Grand Place has been transformed for several days into a giant floral canvas inspired by Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai's famous 1831 woodblock print The Great Wave off Kanagawa.

According to Report"s European bureau, this year's composition measures 70 meters long and 24 meters wide, covering an area of about 1,680 square meters. It was created by Japanese artist Hiro Sugiyama.

The carpet is made up of more than 700,000 flowers, mainly Belgian dahlias, as well as begonias, grass and bark. More than 100 volunteers worked on the installation, spending six hours arranging the flowers according to a prepared design. Japanese Ambassador to Belgium Takeshi Osuga also took part in the project.

In the evenings, the floral composition becomes part of a light and music show, with performances on the Grand Place accompanied by lighting and music.

The 2026 Brussels Flower Carpet is dedicated to the 160th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Belgium and Japan. This is the 24th edition of the project and the second to feature a Japanese theme. Brussels and Tokyo first collaborated on a Japanese-themed flower carpet in 2016.

The Brussels Flower Carpet is an example of so-called ephemeral art: the composition is created for only a few days before disappearing. The first such carpet was installed on the Grand Place in 1971, while the event has been held there every two years in August since 1986.