A Chinese New Year reception was held in Brussels on 7 February 2017 to celebrate the Year of the Rooster.  

The reception was organised by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Brussels and the Belgium-Hong Kong Society, with the support of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.   

The Deputy Prime Minister and Federal Minister of  Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and European Affairs of the Kingdom of Belgium, Mr Didier Reynders, officiated at the event, which was held at the Albert Hall.  Around 400 guests from the Belgian government, the European Union institutions, the diplomatic corps, the business sector, the Hong Kong community and the media attended the event.

The event was further enhanced by the Cantonese music performance by the Hong Kong music group namely Hong Kong Drum Ensemble.

The Belgium-Hong Kong Society co-hosted a reception at the official Hong Kong residence in Brussels on 29 June to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to China and the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.  The event was supported by Chinese Mission to the European Union, which contributed a photo exhibition on Hong Kong’s achievements over the last 20 years.  Speeches were made by Special Representative for Hong Kong Economic Affairs to the EU, Ms Shirley Lam, the Head of the Chinese Mission to the EU, Madam Yang Yangyi, and Belgium-Hong Kong Society Chairman, Mr Piet Steel.  The talented Yat Po Singers (一舖清唱), the first professional a cappella choral theatre company in Hong Kong focusing on developing original theatrical works, gave warmly applauded performances of 賽馬 (Horse Race), 南泥灣渡假村 (Nan Ni Wan Resort), Man in the mirror, Swan Lake, and the theme song of the HKSAR 20th anniversary, 香港・我家 (Hong Kong Our Home). 

In cooperation with the City of Brussels and folklore organisation the Order of the Friends of Manneken-Pis, the city’s favourite son was dressed in his Hong Kong costume for a traditional “Salute to Manneken-Pis” ceremony on 30 June. After speeches by Special Representative for Hong Kong Economic and Trade Affairs to the EU, Ms Shirley Lam and a representative of the Council of the City of Brussels, the Yat Po Singers performed to an eager crowd of guests, tourists and passers-by. Members of the Order of the Friends of Manneken-Pis then sang the Manneken-Pis song, after which the little fellow playfully sprayed the crowd with water. Water was then turned into the typical Brussels beer Faro, for guests and bystanders to enjoy which was sponsored by the Belgium-Hong Kong Society. This was the third time the famous little boy wore the costume, which the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Brussels (HKETO, Brussels) donated to the City of Brussels in 2012 on the occasion of the HKSAR’s 15th anniversary. The costume is kept in the new, dedicated Manneken-Pis annex of the City of Brussels Museum, round the corner in rue du Chêne/Eikstraat.

  The Asian Youth Orchestra (AYO) gave the final concert of its world tour in 2017 at the Fine Arts Centre BOZAR in Brussels on 5 September 2017.  The concert was one of the highlights of the HKSAR 20th anniversary celebrations of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Brussels (HKETO, Brussels).

 Thirty-six teams of paddlers took part in the 7th Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival at Kattendijkdok in the Port of Antwerp on Saturday 16 September 2017.  With the support of the Belgium Hong Kong Society, they included a team from the University of Leuven (KU Leuven).  For the first time, there were also students from the University of Gent.