Brussels' Grand-Place Flower Carpet Features 750,000 Dahlias in Tribute to Hokusai

From August 13 to 16, Brussels' Grand-Place hosted the 24th Flower Carpet, a monumental composition of over 750,000 fresh dahlias spanning nearly 14,000 square feet. Designed by artist Hiro Sugiyama, the work titled "Neo Hokusai" reimagines Katsushika Hokusai's "The Great Wave Off Kanagawa" from *Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji* (1830-1832) in bright magenta, vermilion, and yellow, with flowers covering about 80 percent of the design. The installation celebrated 160 years of friendship between Belgium and Japan. This year's dahlias were sourced in partnership with Bloemencorso Loenhout, a flower parade in Loenhout that begins September 12. The event follows a 2018 carpet featuring Guanajuato, made from one million begonias and captured in aerial timelapse by Joerg Daiber.