Volume 3, No. 12. June 27, 2003
A happy
Union
Brussels, Belgium,
may be one of Europe’s most beautiful cities, but it lacks the superstar
attraction status of, say, a Paris, Rome or London that would put it on the
must-do list of most tourists’ itineraries. Yet, while many of Europe’s
other capitals are steeped in history, Brussels’ history is happening now
as the European Union capital city.
“When we ask tourists, ‘What’s Brussels for you?’ 54 percent
say Brussels is the capital of Europe,” said Thierry Meeùs, owner
and president of Mini-Europe, a 14-year-old park featuring scale models of Europe’s
famous cities and landmarks. “Up to now, there is nothing for the public
that shows that. You can see the facade of the European Parliament, but nothing
popular.”
Though his park already stood as Brussels’ most visited attraction, Meeùs
decided to fill that need by adding a new exhibit devoted to the European Union.
“I want to be one of the major information centers for the general public,”
he said. “Here they can have a taste for Europe.”
Opened May 1, the Spirit of Europe is a 350-square-meter (3,767-square-foot)
exhibition hall sitting at the back of Mini-Europe. Upon entering guests see
traditional exhibits explaining the history of Europe and the Union’s success.
Further in, however, the exhibit becomes a high-tech playground using seven
interactive games to tout the benefits of a unified Europe. Some games can be
played solo, like “Words of Europe” requiring players to identify
the 11 official languages in Europe. For other games, the more players the better.
“European Symphony” plays the European Anthem (the fourth movement
“Ode de Joy” of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony) when a player places
his or her hand on a map of Europe. Each country plays a different instrument.
The more hands placed on the map, the fuller the orchestral arrangement. “The
more we are, the better the symphony,” Meeùs said.
The attraction’s highlight is EuropEmotion. Using technology by Alterface,
a new company which grew out of the University of Louvain La Neuve, two players
are filmed and integrated onto a large screen; it does not use blue or green
screen technology, nor do the players have to wear any sensors. The randomly
selected games include grabbing musical notes and jumping to place them on a
stanza to create the European Anthem, moving old European currencies into a
furnace to create the Euro, and throwing fire balls at member nations’
flags that appear on a pole. Get all 15 flags, the European flag appears. In
another game, the two players have to jump up to reach keys that will free pigeons,
representing how the Union has engendered the continent’s longest period
of peace since the Roman Empire.
By its very nature, the new exhibit is destined to go through some changes.
The European Union’s membership expands to 25 next year. “Maybe in
2007 it will be 27, and who knows afterward,” Meeùs said. “Every
year I have to change something. And maybe I’ll have to adapt the games
to make sure they will be good for our customers.”
In addition to offering an attraction for and about the European Union, Meeùs
hopes to spread his pro-Union message, especially to younger generations. “I
have a passion for Europe,” said Meeùs, a member of the board of
the European Movement Belgium, “So I combine both: it should attract people
in one way, and in another way it’s important to give a basic message that
we are young, we have successes, not everything is perfect but being European
is fun.” Politics and marketing aside, that’s what the Spirit of Europe
comes down to: fun: “I still want to be in the leisure time and not a library
about the European Union.”
THE LOOP is written and produced by Eric Minton, Minton Enterprises, LLC. To see more examples of Eric Minton's work and Minton Enterprises services, visit www.ericminton.com.
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