Discover Benelux | Liège | Wallonia’s Top Destination
Stellar sights and sounds TEXT: LIDIJA LIEGIS | PHOTOS: COUNTRY HALL
Country Hall is Belgium’s largest cultural venue. Located in Liège, this multi-purpose indoor arena hosts notable sporting events, concerts and cultural gatherings. For sports events, the arena seats 5,600 people, while it has place for 7,200 concert goers. Previous standout sporting events include the 1973 European Champions basketball cup, and the 1977 European Basketball Championship, and it has also staged four operas. This year Country Hall will host the first round of the World Group men’s tennis of the Davis Cup from 4 to 6 March. Plus, world-renowned exhibition basketball team the Harlem Globetrotters will visit the venue on 1 April to perform a show combining theatre, comedy and athleticism. The team has played over 20,000 games in 120 countries around the world. 34 | Issue 26 | February 2016
Other key happenings this year are shows by French comedian Laurent Gerra on 15 April. Expect to be entertained by this showman as he imitates senior French politicians and other notable figures. On 4 June Lebanese-British international pop star MIKA will take to the stage. In total the venue receives over 100,000 visitors a year. Director Jean Mathy has worked at Country Hall on and off since 1971. His favourite aspect of the job is “the diversity, the culture, the contact with people and the shows”. The most challenging thing about being director, says Mathy, is finding the right contacts to organise events, and when people do not respect agreements. As well as the show arenas, Country Hall has a VIP restaurant and other areas which can be rented out for special occasions. Major companies fre-
quently organise large receptions and parties for up to 2,000 people. Mathy recommends visiting Country Hall for an event because it is the largest events hall in Belgium, has great accessibility with proximity to major thoroughfares and stations, and it has a first-rate technical capacity. He also notes that Country Hall and its team have the capacity “to organise excellent events at just 24 or 48 hours’ notice”. Mathy is most proud when people return for a second time, and his happiest moment was hosting French pop singer Christophe Maé in March 2014.
www.countryhall.be