A PORTRAIT OF BELGIUM AND LUXEMBOURG 19Palatial office of the international steel giant Arcelor Mittal in Luxembourg City
in the trade and processing of raw
diamonds. Belgium also benefits
financially from being the primary
centre of EU administration. Tourism
is a key sector as well, with its main
focus on Brussels and the Flemish
cities of Antwerp, Bruges and Ghent.
Luxembourg’s largest industry
used to be the production of
high-quality steel. These days,
financial services, banking
and insurance, are the main
income earners. The country
also houses numerous major inter-
national Internet companies.
ART AND SPORTHistorically, Belgium is known for
having produced some of the finest
art and architecture in Europe. This
includes the pioneering oil painting
of Jan van Eyck and his contemporar-
ies, Rubens’s spectacular Baroque
canvases, Victor Horta’s Art Nouveau
style as well as the Surrealism of René
Magritte and Paul Delvaux. Like its
neighbour, Luxembourg also has an
outstanding art scene, boosted by the
opening of the prestigious Musée
d’Art Modern Grand-Duc Jean
(MUDAM) in 2006. Similar dynamism
has been shown in ballet and film,
and also in fashion, where Antwerp-
based designers in particular number
among the industry’s most respected
names. In the world of books, the
Belgian authors Georges Simenon,
creator of Inspector Maigret, and
Hergé, creator of Tintin, rank among
the world’s top-selling authors.
Both Belgium and Luxembourg
produce talented sportsmen, who
acquit themselves well at the
Olympics, especially in the
fields of judo, high-jump and
athletics. Belgium has produced
outstanding tennis players in
recent years, notably world champi-
ons Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin.
Both countries excel in professional
cycling, with 22 winners of the Tour
de France between them. This includes
Belgian Eddie Merckx, considered the
greatest professional cyclist ever.Belgium’s champion cyclist Eddy Merckx leading
the race at Vincennes, 21 July 1974Diamonds from
Antwerp