Sofas in the Sun

Place Flagey becomes Giant Living Room

Some are lounging on couches having a drink, others are sitting on the floor playing chess or smoking shisha, a band is playing in the background. The event "Take your couch, sit and relax" turned Place Flagey on May 1st into a giant open air living room.

 Everything started with a paramount hangover on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Francois (25), Jeff (25), Benoit (27), Yannick (26), Florent (27) and Raphael (25), all living right next to the Ixelles Ponds, wanted to take advantage of the great weather - but in a casual, comfortable atmosphere. As they had neither access to a terrace nor a balcony, the six friends spontaneously decided to move their living room onto the street. "The feedback we got was so positive that we wanted to try it on a larger scale", Francois tells me.

 The organization takes after the so-called flashmobs, happenings solely organized via the internet and social media where a big group of people comes together to perform a rather absurd act as for example a pillow fight. "We only advertised through Facebook and word of mouth", Jeff says.
And it worked. The concept proved to be a success: The randomly born idea evolved into an event attracting around 100 participants. Like Louis (21) from Lille who was, as most attendees, captivated by the originality of the idea: "This is something different, something unconventional, so I really wanted to come and try it out." Many brought a piece of furniture or decoration along: banana trees, lamps, carpets, shisha pipes, table football and even a stuffed pheasant - there definitely was a real living room feeling.

"Take your couch, sit and relax" is set to take place each year on the 1st of May - if the weather allows it. If you don't want to wait until 2011, just put your sofa outside on the sidewalk. Maybe someone will join you with a banana tree.