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Mini-Europe

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Mini-Europe is the brainchild of Johannes A. Lorijn, who founded similar miniature parks in Austria and Spain. The park contains live action models such as trains, mills, an erupting Mount Vesuvius, and cable cars. A guide gives the details on all the monuments. At the end of the visit, the Spirit of Europe exhibition gives an interactive overview of the EU in the form of multimedia games.

The park is built on an area of 24,000 m2 (300,000 sq ft). The initial investment was of 50 million Belgian francs in 1989, on its inauguration by then-Prince Philippe of Belgium.

History

Inception, opening and growth

The original idea for the park originated from the Dutch businessman Johannes A. Lorijn who, in 1986, came up with the idea of creating a miniature park on the Heysel/Heizel site in Brussels. After his association with the Société régionale d'Investissement bruxelloise, which took a stake in the miniature park, he withdrew from the project following bad business fortunes. The park having already been sketched out and the models ordered, the Société approached the Walibi group, headed by Eddy Meeùs, about becoming a joint shareholder by taking over the designer's shares. In June 1988, Walibi's directors bought the business.

The revised plan consisted of a new park section at Walibi Belgium in Wavre, but that idea proved too large for the amusement park, so a search was made for a location where it could open as a separate park. Mini-Europe was eventually built on the old site of the Meli Heysel/Heizel amusement park, a branch of the West Flanders-based Meli Park, which had closed in 1986. The initial investment was of 50 million Belgian francs. Mini-Europe opened in 1989 as part of Brussels' Bruparck entertainment park, which also housed a branch of the Kinepolis cinema chain and the Océade tropical water park, which closed in 2018. Then-Prince Philippe of Belgium inaugurated the site on 1 June 1989 with Thierry Meeùs at the helm.

Mini-Europe proved less profitable than the theme parks owned by the Meeùs family. The turnover was between 100 million and 120 million Belgian francs in the first few years. The Escurial Monastery, the Palace of Westminster, the Nyhavn in Copenhagen, the Grand-Place/Grote Markt, the Arc de Triomphe, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Parthenon and the Brandenburg Gate were among the first models visible to visitors. Mini-Europe welcomed 300,000 visitors in 1998. With 350,000 visitors in 2012 and €4 million in turnover, Mini-Europe has become one of Brussels' leading attractions. In 2018, 390,000 admissions were recorded.

Neo Project and potential closure

Mini-Europe and Océade were threatened by the NEO project at the Heysel—a large shopping, residential and office project—and were originally due to close their doors at the end of 2013. This deadline was extended for a first time until the end of 2016. Océade ultimately closed in October 2018. Mini-Europe appeared to have an approved demolition permit in 2019. The 2020 season, marked by the COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium, was initially announced as the park's last. Finally, an agreement was reached at the beginning of 2021 to extend operations until the arrival of NEO and to guarantee Mini-Europe's inclusion in NEO.

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