For four days this August, an exquisite tapestry entirely made of flowers covered the Grand Place in Brussels to celebrate 150 years of Belgo-Japanese friendship. The enormous floral artwork commemorates the original Treaty of Friendship, Commerce, and Navigation the two nations signed in August 1866.
The carpet covers 1,800 square meters and depicts colorful motifs of birds, koi fish, trees, and cherry blossoms to honor Japanese culture. It was designed by Tapis de Fleurs, a Belgian nonprofit that brought the whole thing to life with the help of hundreds of volunteers, graphic designers, illustrators, and landscape architects.
A team of artists came up with the theme and color palate and then calculated the number of flowers it would take to complete the installation. They ordered the flowers months in advance and made a special plastic blueprint to mark where the blooms were to be placed. It took 120 volunteers four hours to pack together 600,000 blooms and complete the installation.
Flowercarpet.be
Flowercarpet.be
Flowercarpet.be
The tradition of making a flower tapestry on Grand Place goes back to 1971, and now every two years the city square is blanketed in colorful designs for a few days in August.
On this special occasion, visitors are invited to go up the town hall's balcony to take wide-angle panorama shots, or walk on ground level to enjoy the colors and pleasant floral fragrances. Evening musical concerts and light shows are also part of the event.
Flowercarpet.be
Flowercarpet.be
Flowercarpet.be
Flowercarpet.be
Flowercarpet.be
Flowercarpet.be
Unfortunately, the carpet can only last for about four days before the flowers start to wilt. This year's installation ran from August 12 to 15. If you'd like to see it for yourself, you should start planning your 2018 summer vacation in Brussels!
Source: Earthables
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