2016 Brussels bombings

==Memorialization==
[[File:Brussels_2016-05-06_15-41-20_ILCE-6300_4098_DxO_(28777118843).jpg|thumb|upright|Wall of messages at Maelbeek metro station]]

In the aftermath of the attacks, the population of Brussels created spontaneous memorials as a societal reaction to what was perceived as a collective tragedy. In the hours following the attack, people started gathering at the [[Place de la Bourse, Brussels|Place de la Bourse/Beursplein]]. Mourners wrote chalk messages on the pavement and buildings surrounding the square. Numerous messages and mementos, usually every-day objects such as mugs or hats, were left at the [[Brussels Stock Exchange]] memorial. According to Ana Milosevic, a researcher at [[KU Leuven]], societal tensions and the need for answers about the causes and consequences of the attacks were salient in the first days and weeks after the event. During the two months of its existence, the Brussels Stock Exchange memorial was used as a site of contestation and negotiation of the meanings associated with the terrorist attacks.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Remembering the present: Dealing with the memories of terrorism in Europe|first=Ana|last=Milošević|date=24 May 2017|journal=Contemporary Voices: St Andrews Journal of International Relations|volume=8|issue=2|pages = 44|doi=10.15664/jtr.1269|doi-access=free}}</ref>

The [[Archives of the City of Brussels]] were asked by the mayor [[Yvan Mayeur]] and the city council to collect and document the societal reactions to the attacks. Over two months, the archives team documented the process of memorialization, also collecting some of the memorabilia left by the mourners.<ref>{{Cite journal |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13527258.2017.1362574 |title=Milosevic, Ana. 2018. Historicizing the present: Brussels attacks and heritagization of spontaneous memorials. International Journal of Heritage Studies 24(1):53–65 |doi=10.1080/13527258.2017.1362574 |s2cid=149160122 |access-date=24 October 2017 |archive-date=3 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403212511/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13527258.2017.1362574 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In November 2016, a sculpture in memory of the victims of the bombings was inaugurated in the Place Communale/Gemeenteplein (Municipal Square) of Molenbeek. The sculpture, called the ''Flame of Hope'', was created by local artist Moustapha Zoufri.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.brusselstimes.com/39958/brussels-attacks-sculpture-inaugurated-today-in-molenbeek-in-memory-of-victims|title=Brussels attacks: sculpture inaugurated today in Molenbeek in memory of victims|work=Brussels Times|date=8 November 2016|access-date=13 December 2022|archive-date=13 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221213125831/https://www.brusselstimes.com/39958/brussels-attacks-sculpture-inaugurated-today-in-molenbeek-in-memory-of-victims|url-status=live}}</ref>

There is a memorial plaque in the departure hall of Brussels Airport, and, in the nearby Memorial Garden, a plaque listing the 16 people who died in the airport attack was inaugurated on 22 March 2018.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lavenir.net/regions/2018/03/22/une-stele-commemorative-inauguree-au-memorial-garden-pres-de-laeroport-de-zaventem-ZOK2ETUS3FDUHK536CFL7MY23A/|title=Une stèle commémorative inaugurée au Memorial Garden, près de l'aéroport de Zaventem|date=22 March 2018|work=l'avenir|access-date=10 March 2023|archive-date=10 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230310120735/https://www.lavenir.net/regions/2018/03/22/une-stele-commemorative-inauguree-au-memorial-garden-pres-de-laeroport-de-zaventem-ZOK2ETUS3FDUHK536CFL7MY23A/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Following a public competition, a monument to the victims was unveiled by King Philippe on the first anniversary of the attacks on the pedestrianized section of the [[Rue de la Loi|Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat]], between [[Schuman metro station]] and the [[Cinquantenaire|Parc du Cinquantenaire/Jubelpark]]. The monument, by Jean-Henri Compère, is called ''Wounded But Still Standing in Front of the Inconceivable'' and is constructed from two 20-metre (66 foot) long horizontal surfaces rising skywards.<ref name=Guardian220317>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/22/brussels-unveil-terror-victims-memorial-one-year-after-attacks|title=Brussels attacks: 'Let us dare to be tender,' says king on first anniversary|work=The Guardian|date=22 March 2017|access-date=10 March 2023|archive-date=10 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230310120735/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/22/brussels-unveil-terror-victims-memorial-one-year-after-attacks|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Brussels-Capital Region]] also memorialized the attacks with a [[Land art|land-art]] work by [[Bas Smets]], who planted 32 birches (one for each victim) in the [[Sonian Forest]] (Drève de l'Infante/Infantedreef) called ''Memorial 22/03''. Smets describes the memorial as "a place of silence and meditation." The birches are connected by a circular structure and separated from the rest of the forest by a small round canal.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.levif.be/actualite/belgique/22-mars-2016-un-memorial-pour-les-victimes-des-attentats-implante-en-foret-de-soignes/article-normal-632565.html|magazine=[[Le Vif/L'Express]]|agency=Belga|language=fr|title=22 mars 2016 : Un mémorial pour les victimes des attentats implanté en Forêt de Soignes|date=22 March 2017|access-date=24 October 2017|archive-date=22 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170322143835/http://www.levif.be/actualite/belgique/22-mars-2016-un-memorial-pour-les-victimes-des-attentats-implante-en-foret-de-soignes/article-normal-632565.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In Maelbeek metro station, a commemorative mural called ''The Olive Tree'' was created by [[Benoît van Innis]], who previously designed the metro station, and a list of the sixteen victims was unveiled at the third commemorative anniversary next to the mural.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Namen van slachtoffers vereeuwigd in metrostation Maalbeek |url=https://www.bruzz.be/samenleving/namen-van-slachtoffers-vereeuwigd-metrostation-maalbeek-2019-03-22 |website=bruzz.be |publisher=[[Bruzz]] |date=22 March 2019 |access-date=23 March 2019 |language=nl |archive-date=16 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201116163041/https://www.bruzz.be/samenleving/namen-van-slachtoffers-vereeuwigd-metrostation-maalbeek-2019-03-22 |url-status=live }}</ref>

<gallery>
File:Brussels 2016-05-05 17-57-26 ILCE-6300 3987 DxO (29357024895).jpg|The impromptu memorial at the [[Brussels Stock Exchange]]
File:The Flame of Hope.jpg|The ''Flame of Hope'' by [[Mustapha Zoufri]] in Molenbeek, in honour of the victims of the Paris and Brussels attacks
File:Memoriel 22 mars 2016, rue de la Loi (3).jpg|''Wounded But Still Standing in Front of the Inconceivable'', [[Rue de la Loi]], [[Brussels]]
File:Memoriel 22 mars 2016, Etterbeek.jpg|Memorial to the attacks of 22 Mars 2016, [[Etterbeek]] ([[Jardin Felix Hap]])
File:Mémorial en hommage aux victimes du 22 mars en pleine Forêt de Soignes.jpg|''Memorial 22/03'' by [[Bas Smets]] in the [[Sonian Forest]]
File:Gedenkwand Maelbeek.jpg|''The Olive Tree'' by [[Benoît van Innis]] in Maelbeek metro station
File:Gedenkliste Maelbeek.jpg|Memorial plaque for the 16 victims in Maelbeek metro station
</gallery>