Brussels, it’s almost October and I’m asking - hoooooow?!

I don’t know about you, but my September in this city has been crazy busy. Some of my friends are still waiting to catch up with me, that bad😅🙈. But on the other hand, I’m really happy that work is busy again, because it means a lot of new events - whether I’m organising them or attending them.

In this issue, we’re going to look at:

  • ❌ 3 mistakes to avoid when planning your next event

  • 📷 My favourite photographers and videographers in Brussels

  • 🍵 Where to get the best matcha in Brussels

  • 🔍 My recent finds: restaurant, café, TV show and podcast

  • 🗓️ Upcoming events in Brussels (25 September-7 October)

  • 🎥 Content creator in the spotlight: Kate and Brussels

3 mistakes to avoid when planning your next event

For the love of God or whoever/whatever you believe in, these aspects are among my pet peeves (and yours probably, too).

Back to school/business in Brussels means one thing - we’re back to lots of events in our calendar, whether it’s panels, exclusive closed-door roundtables, or networking receptions.

Whenever I attend other events, I can’t help but shake off my professional bias and scrutinise every little thing about the event organisation on the spot. But the experience already starts with registering and receiving more information via email; don’t underestimate it.

Last week, I went to a big-name event in Brussels…and let’s just say that it reminded me of some of the things I keep seeing around other events in this city. I’m a strong believer that if we all keep events to a high standard, we will only benefit from it; the competition for bringing an extra spark will become that much higher.

These are my 3 main event organisation DON’Ts

  1. Don’t spam your participants, but don’t ghost them either. Have you registered, but keep getting reminders to register? So annoying, right! In my job, I use a tool that helps me distinguish between “invited” and “confirmed”. (Salesforce, the tool is Salesforce). For our regular in-house events, we usually only send one reminder. For events that were announced months in advance, we would send 2-3 reminders. But I also experienced ghosting. I ask a question about the event….and nobody answers 😅. Or my new “favourite” - I sign up for an event that reviews registrations. There’s nothing wrong with that. But they sometimes don’t let me know that I didn’t make it on the list; I’m just supposed to get the message 🙈.

  2. Don’t overspend on one thing and underspend on everything else. Look, I get it. If you’re a communication agency, you’ll want to impress with breathtaking and conversation-starting visuals. If you’re a company with a product, you’ll want to use every opportunity to showcase it in the best light. But don’t skimp on other aspects, such as staff presence, food and drinks, or signage. I recently went to an event, held at a hotel, which had the main programme and follow-up networking drinks. Turns out that you had to buy tokens to pay for those drinks; only water was freely available. That’s a big no for this kind of networking if you ask me.

  3. Don’t leave the venue without any signage. I understand if some venues, such as hotels or historical venues, are stricter about placing signage to guide your participants. If that’s the case, just place some of your staff or volunteers at the most important points - main entrance, stairs/elevator and different floors (if applicable), or a cloakroom (if relevant). If signage is allowed, you want to make sure to navigate your attendees to the registrations, cloakroom, toilets, main room and breakout rooms, and catering and networking areas.

My favourite photographers and videographers in Brussels

We’ve all been there - we need professionally looking pictures of our events, new headshots of our staff, a livestream of our event, or an aftermovie. Whatever it is, below are my picks for photographers and videographers I love to work with in Brussels. Disclaimer - I know this list only includes men; simply because I haven’t had a chance to work with any female professionals yet.

Photographers

Videographers

  • Alexandre Dechaumont - I adore Alexandre, and he knows it. He has helped us so many times by now, and his livestreams are of top-notch quality. He also prepares teasers and aftermovies of our annual flagship conference.

  • Patrick Doodt - Patrick and I go way back. He used to stun the audience with his videos when we both volunteered for the Erasmus Student Network. I’m really proud to see that he turned his volunteering passion into a well-oiled business. While he technically resides in Germany, he comes to Brussels for work all the time.

Where to get the best matcha in Brussels

Listen! I know that a lot of you hate the taste of this green tea beverage from Japan. Many of you have also probably only discovered this “trendy” drink recently because of the social media madness. But let me tell you that I started drinking matcha yeaaaars ago, before all this hype! Which makes me quite mad for two reasons: first, I don’t like doing things that are super popular, and two, the increased global demand is making supplies more scarce and driving the prices up.

But if you are a true fan of matcha, I recommend these places 👇

  • Karma Matcha - my absolute favourite. I honestly haven’t found a better-tasting matcha in Belgium so far. And they have another branch in Antwerp, which is actually much more central than its Brussels location. My usual order is Blue Vanilla. Expect to spend 6 EUR on a flavoured iced latte.

  • Bark Boy - my go-to when I’m in the office. This place has great vibes and is very Instagram-friendly with its cans featuring a bulldog. What I really appreciate is that oat and coconut milk are included in the price. A medium matcha latte will cost you 5 EUR, while a large one will cost 7 EUR. They also make a great matcha lemonade.

Matcha lemonade and a cinnamon bun from Bark Boy. Picture taken by the author.

  • My Little Cup or Bouche (city centre/Froissart) - I’m putting these two together since they’re under one “chain”, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if you already know about these places. A hot matcha latte will cost you 5 EUR, with an extra 60 cents if you want coconut milk. Beware that the coconut milk includes soya; my colleague had to find out the hard way (but she has brought it up with them, so fingers crossed).

My recent finds

  • 🍴 Restaurant: I finally went to Les 4 jeudis for lunch with a friend. This quaint restaurant in the Saint-Josse neighbourhood serves just one lunch formula, which is vegan, and in our case, was also gluten-free. The lunch was absolutely delicious, the staff were really nice, but it is recommended to make a reservation beforehand. 

  • ☕ Café: You may have known it previously as a tapas bar close to Schuman. Today, Café Oumpa is a lovely little neighbourhood café, which invites you to all the hot drinks you may expect and delicious homemade cakes. The owner is also super friendly.

  • 📺 TV Show: Since The Only Murders in the Building is back, I have resubscribed to Disney+. But that’s not the show I want to talk about today. No Taste Like Home with Antoni Porowski is a six-episode documentary which explores the culinary and family heritage of six Hollywood stars. If you like documentaries that combine travel and food, I’m confident you’ll like this one, too.

  • 🎧 Podcast: If you’re a movie fan, the name Matthew McConaughey will be no stranger to you. This Academy Award-winning actor and author walks us through his family life as well as his career. If you want a masterclass in powerful storytelling, this podcast is a must. 

Upcoming events

  • 📅 25 September: Bozar all over the P(a)lace - Nocturne @Bozar (link)

  • 📅 25-27 September: Festival de l’Humour 2025 @Espace Cadol (link)

  • 📅 26-27 September: WiseNight @Institute of Natural Sciences (link)

  • 📅 26-28 September: BD Comic Strip Festival @Gare Maritime (link)

  • 📅 26-28 September: Korean Film Weekend @Cinema Galeries (link)

  • 📅 26-28 September: Curated @Mix Brussels (link)

  • 📅 27 September: Poelaert Open Air by Maatwerk & Fancy Footwork @Place Poelaert (link)

  • 📅 27 September: Block Party MJ La Clef @Place Jourdan (link)

  • 📅 27 September: Méga Brocante @Place de la Paix (link)

  • 📅 27-28 September: Fêtes Romanes 2025 @Wolubilis (link)

  • 📅 1 October: Book Club Extravaganza @Muntpunt (link)

  • 📅 2-4 October: The Schuman Schow @Espace Lumen (link)

  • 📅 3 October: HANGAR invites BLACK COFFEE @Gare Maritime (link)

  • 📅 3-12 October: Artonov Festival @asbl ARTONOV (link)

  • 📅 5 October: Brussels Vintage Market @Reset (link)

Content creator in the spotlight: Kate and Brussels

kate_and_the city is our Brussels version of Carrie Bradshaw. Literally. Her reels depicting living in Brussels in the style of the famous 90s TV show Sex and the City are hilarious, and I’m always looking forward to watching another “episode”. Besides that, Kate regularly shares her restaurant and café recommendations, and has some discount codes for different services and brands here and there.

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