liberation days.

For our country, the liberation of Antwerp was one of the most historically and emotionally charged moments of the Second World War. Sylvester succeeded in making the Liberation celebrations a tuneful, eventful and also festive commemorative weekend that drew crowds into a story of memory and hope.

The liberation of Antwerp brought an end to a very difficult period for the city, which involved an awful lot of human suffering. So it was not easy to find the right tone for the Liberation festivities, which had to bring a combination of celebration and remembrance.

With a team of around 100 employees, Sylvester provided a three-day weekend of experiences on September 6^th, 7^th and 8^th . On Friday, the curiosity of the people of Antwerp was aroused by some actors dressed as resistance fighters and newspaper boys, who announced the upcoming liberation. Saturday was followed by a festive liberation parade with nearly 100 vehicles from the past and present, throughout the city. This was accompanied by a parade of historical and contemporary ships on the Scheldt, and a real air show with historical aircrafts from the Second World War. This included a Spitfire and a Flying Fortress, one of only two B-19 bombers still in existence.

The parade ended in a Liberation Village on the “Scheldekaai”, where a group of enthusiastic re-enactors set up a real encampment in the retro atmosphere of that time period. And of course a touch of swing was not to be missed. This was provided by Jelle Cleymans and his El Bandidos – accompanied for the occasion by Jonas Vangeel and James Cook. Roel Vanderstukken brought along his Corsaris. Closing the festive evening was right up DAAN’s alley.

That same evening, Sylvester also provided a captivating spectacle on the “Grote Markt” with video, sound, projection and actors. A project for which Sylvester’s two departments worked closely together, with a striking result.

This was the finale of an intense period, which started back in June with a participatory project of folding doves of peace, which turned the whole of Antwerp to origami. The more than 10.000 folded doves were brought together in two installations, in the MAS and the Felixpakhuis.

This year (2020), the aftermovie of the Liberation Days in Antwerp won a gold award organised by Video Experience Day, the former Belgian Corporate Video Festival.