Will the illuminations be sacrificed or reduced? In the municipalities, we are working on the question. Some mayors refuse to give up on the magic of Christmas, others have decided, they will reduce the lights. Between the two, there are those who hesitate.
Some municipalities do not want to sacrifice their illuminations because after the health crisis and sometimes planed festivities, citizens need this little moment of magic. Others have already decided to reduce these illuminations: either in number of days, or in hours of lighting per day or even the number of illuminated sites on the territory. The objective is to save money but also to lead by example. Finally, the case has not yet been decided in a series of cities and towns.
A Bruxelles, the 19 elected officials are meeting today at a conference of mayors. On the agenda: the end-of-year illuminations in particular. The objective is to take harmonized measures throughout the territory of the Brussels region, with the exception of Brussels City for the Plaisirs d’Hiver. The mayors want to shorten the period of illuminations, they must define this period.
Liège decided and will reduce its Christmas lights: from 50 to 45 days, and from 10 to 8 hours a day. This will allow savings of around 8,500 kilowatt hours out of the 30,000 usually consumed.
The louvière has also already decided to review its copy compared to previous years: Christmas lighting, like public lighting for that matter, will be cut from midnight to 5am. A good compromise which makes it possible to maintain the illuminations everywhere on the entity and not to add gloom to the current context by keeping this festive side in town.
Charleroi, on the other hand, maintains its illuminations because of low energy consumption for lighting and after two covid years, the citizens need this moment of festivities and magic. The Christmas village is also maintained as is the ice rink, but to lower the bill and avoid losses, a roof will be placed above this year.
Durbuy should make a decision within a fortnight at the latest. The city is moving towards maintaining the illuminations but at reduced hours, the lighting would be cut from midnight to 5 a.m. In order to make the right decision, the City contacted its energy supplier to find out what it would mean in terms of savings, stopping both public and decorative lighting. Even if the economy is minimal, the city wants to set an example for citizens who may not understand why these lights work at night. On the other hand, not putting on Christmas lighting is unthinkable, we are still in a tourist town and the end-of-year festivities attract 150,000 people.
A Namur, the decision will be made in the coming weeks. Three avenues are studied: limiting the period of illuminations, limiting the number of illuminated sites, limiting the number of hours during which this lighting works. The objective is to reduce expenses for financial reasons and participate in the collective effort. Usually, the city center, the shopping streets of the outskirts and the villages are illuminated from the end of November to January.
Mons hasn’t made a decision yet. Traditionally, the meeting to organize the Christmas festivities takes place during the month of October.