Brussels central square transformed into giant Japan-inspired flower carpet

The cobblestones of Brussels’ Grand-Place have been transformed into a vibrant floral display as the Belgian capital celebrates the 24th edition of its Flower Carpet, this year inspired by Japan.

Japanese artist Hiro Sugiyama designed this year’s composition, a reinterpretation of Katsushika Hokusai's iconic woodblock print "The Great Wave off Kanagawa".

Using over 700,000 flowers, mostly dahlias—a Belgian floral classic—the design pays tribute to Hokusai's 200-year-old masterpiece. Sugiyama said the carpet brings a piece of contemporary Japanese culture to Belgium.

The Japanese artist spent eight months developing the design, and had initially planned to make the composition even more colourful, but explained he was limited to a palette of 16 colours due to time constraints.

"To be honest, at the beginning, I was pretty nervous about [the limited colours palette], but once I came here and saw the design and the flowers laid out, I was very excited and realised that I didn't need to worry about it at all, because it looks beautiful already," Sugiyama said.

Belgium-Japan 160th anniversary

The Belgian-Japanese collaboration marks the 160th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two nations, and comes a decade after the first Flower Carpet collaboration in 2016.

Brussels Flower Carpet Organisation member, Richard Poncint, said the carpet is more than just an artwork, but is also a symbol of bringing people and cultures together.

"Culture events show people that we can work together, we can do interesting things together and that's one of the things we do here also with our Japanese friends," Poncin said.

Once a theme has been chosen, the number of flowers are calculated and colour palette is chosen, the organisers explain. Several days before the carpet is assembled, a full-size design is drawn on a large cotton canvas laid out on the city square.

On Thursday, more than a hundred volunteers worked for approximately six hours to arrange the flowers into the artwork the artist had intended.

Japanese Ambassador to Belgium, Takeshi Osuga, was also present, helping to lay the flowers.

"A lot of Japanese sponsors contributed to this event and I wanted to contribute by laying out the flowers," Osuga said.

The Flower Carpet returns back to the historic central square in the Belgian capital every two years, with the first display dating back to 1971.

The carpet is 70 metres long and 24 metres wide, and consists of dahlias, begonias, grass and bark. Visitors can walk around the carpet or view it from the balcony of the Town Hall.

The 2026 Flower Carpet is on display from August 13 to 16. While all sold out online, tickets can be bought at the venue itself during opening hours at the entrance of the Town Hall.