Why is Flanders lining up extra bars and big screens for Spain versus Belgium?
Flemish towns are extending café terraces, booking additional big screens and closing off streets so supporters can watch Belgium's Red Devils take on Spain together, according to a live round-up by the Flemish daily Het Laatste Nieuws. The preparations are a familiar civic ritual around a marquee national-team fixture — and a reminder of how much of the match-day experience in Belgium happens in the squares and on the terraces rather than only in the stadium.
For anyone living in or connected to Belgium, a marquee Red Devils fixture is one of the few events that reliably turns private viewing into a public, shared occasion — and the practical build-up (closed streets, fan zones, extended terraces) directly shapes town-centre life for residents, businesses and match-goers alike. It also quietly showcases how Belgian public space is governed: the celebration you see in a square is the product of municipal decisions about safety, licensing and crowd management.
The story concerns preparations across Flemish towns — extra bars, additional big screens and street closures — for supporters to watch Belgium's national football team, the Rode Duivels (Red Devils), play Spain. Key named entities: Het Laatste Nieuws (HLN), the Flemish daily reporting the live build-up; the Rode Duivels / Red Devils, Belgium's men's national side; Spain (La Roja), reigning UEFA Euro 2024 champions; the burgemeester (municipal mayor), who holds the local public-order and public-space powers that permit fan zones; and Horeca Vlaanderen, the Flemish hospitality federation whose members benefit from public viewing.
Background
Public viewing of Red Devils matches has been a recurring feature of Belgian life through the national team's tournament runs of the past decade, drawing crowds to squares and fan zones whenever the opponent is significant enough to pull people out of their homes. The current occasion sits in the post-"golden generation" phase, as Belgium seeks a renewed identity, and pits them against Spain, the reigning European champions after Euro 2024.
What to do
Residents and drivers in affected Flemish centres should expect road closures and crowds around the match; supporters can plan to watch at organised fan zones and bars; and match-day specifics should be checked against official municipal, club and federation communications.
Impact
Regional — The build-up is concentrated in Flanders, where individual municipalities are setting up fan zones, booking screens and closing streets on a town-by-town basis. Residents of affected centres face altered traffic and busier, louder evenings, while the Flemish hospitality sector stands to gain one of its stronger trading nights around the fixture.
Opposing perspectives
- Horeca Vlaanderen and Flemish café owners
For the Flemish hospitality sector, a Red Devils match against a marquee opponent like Spain is one of the strongest trading nights of the year. Extra terraces, additional screens and extra staff convert a football evening into direct revenue, and the sector argues that public viewing enlivens town centres and brings people together in a way that benefits local business and civic life.
- Municipal and police authorities
Local authorities and police services responsible for a match night weigh the celebration against its cost. Closed streets, large gatherings and alcohol raise practical concerns about stewarding, emergency-vehicle access and the risk of disorder, and it is these services that carry the liability if an evening goes wrong. Their calculus explains why some Flemish towns embrace big fan zones while others keep the arrangements modest.
Sources & evidence
- View sourceHet Laatste Nieuws — Extra bars en schermen: volg hier hoe Vlaanderen zich opmaakt voor Spanje-BelgiëPrimary· hln.beRetrieved 25 July 2026
- View sourceHet Laatste Nieuws — Extra bars, extra schermen en afgesloten straten: volg hier hoe Vlaanderen zich opmaakt voor België· hln.beRetrieved 25 July 2026
