Belgian florists, united in BE-Florist, are organising this year’s edition of Féerie Florale at Alden Biesen castle in Bilzen. The floricultural event is the successor of Fleuramour, which ended when publishing house Rekad went bankrupt. “We want to surround ourselves with big names,” says CEO Koen van Malderen. “In the future, we aim to host the European champion and the world champion here.”
“It has become a household name. It’s too late to quit.” Those were the words spoken by Jomi Hemschoote of publisher Rekad in September 2022 in the VIP area near Alden Biesen church, at the 25th edition of Fleuramour. The year before, there had been a slimmed-down version of the event due to Covid. According to the publisher, who started Fleuramour late last century, the event simply had to go through in 2021 to retain the attention of consumers and flower arrangers, after the 2020 edition had been cancelled because of Covid.
Fleuramour did make it to its 25th anniversary in 2022, but the 26th edition, planned last year, was cancelled due to Rekad’s bankruptcy in May 2023. At the time, the business was headed by Jomi Hemschoote's son and daughter. Since then, the Belgian florists united in BE-Florist have taken over. “It is important to us to retain a flower event of international standing in Belgium,” explains Koen van Malderen, CEO of BE Florist. “After Rekad went bankrupt, nobody wanted to add the event to their calendar, so we did.”