BEHIND THE SCENES
PAUL THIELEMANS
Les Caves de Cureghem
& President Brussels Special Venues

By Viviane Vogels

Paul Thielemans (37) invites me to meet him at his office in Les Caves de Cureghem. Paul is proud – and with reason – when he shows me around those fantastic and immense vaulted cellars underneath the cattle market of Anderlecht. I had not been there for a while and was again impressed by the vast but impeccably restored cellars, an ideal venue for an organiser looking for a difference. What I did not realise is that Paul has been an integral part of the overall evolution of this special venue. 

THE EARLY YEARS
When he graduated in Ghent from his Communication Studies, he went looking for a job for a couple of months before joining the army and thus ended up in an interim office in Anderlecht. He ended up running this office in a very short period of time. He enjoyed the atmosphere, the camaraderie and of course had a lot of contacts with the abattoirs. When he left the army there awaited him a job at Abatan – the management company of the whole site including the Caves de Cureghem.

The restoration of the cellars had just started and the idea was to create a huge antique and brocante gallery. Paul recognised the potential of the cellars and started marketing them as venues for events, dinners etc.. Abatan also made him their official spokesman for the site and this brought him many times in front of the national and even the international press. First there was the huge fire in 1996 which destroyed 2/3rds of the meat processing plants and then there was the infamous case of animal ill-treatment by the cattle merchants.

PAUL AND THE BRUSSELS SCENE
Paul had been active in the Caves de Cureghem for 8 à 9 years before he became active in BITC (then Brussels Congress). He did not know much of the MICE sector in Brussels and was amazed at the little contact there was between the “players” and how everybody lived parallel and as competitors in the same small market.
The “Etats-Généraux du Tourisme” and the start of the different working committees changed that attitude. Especially the committee looking into the impact of the upcoming closure of the Palais des Congrès, resulted in a number of the venues talking to each other. He was agreeably surprised to find that a great number of them were interested in starting a professional association and that there was a lot of support for this idea.

A start of a new association is always difficult, and this was especially so for the ‘Brussels Special Venues asbl’ as they started by getting together rather than selling!
Paul cites the 3 most important reasons why a venue joins the Brussels Special Venues group:

1. Networking: getting to know one another in order to learn from each other.
2. Defence of common interests to the outside world.
3. 1 voice to represent the sector.

Once the above points are up and running, Paul, as President of BSV, looks forward to the 4th point which is still developing but shows great promise: the group promotions. The first example was visible at EMIF where BSV were united on a smart stand, with each their own identity intact, but a common and stylish uniform presentation that gave a clear message of professionalism to the visitor.
Next, Paul is looking at further developing and promoting a common website (www.brusselsspecialvenues.be), and at organising BSV roadshows and own events.

BELGIAN SPECIAL VENUES
Q: How did it all start?
A: The original idea came from Frank Vander Steen of the Brussels Event Brewery to start an association, Paul then developed the idea and he immediately mentions the support – from the very start – of Hervé Bosquet and his colleagues Luce Anciaux (Concert Noble), Cathérine Van Meerbeeck (Albert Hall) en David Titeca (Bibliothèque Solvay). Together with Michel Rottiers the asbl was then started officially.
From the very beginning, Paul was supported in his Presidency, not only by his Management, but also by his colleagues in the other venues who were the driving forces behind the association and he is proud of the achievements to date.

Q: Belgian Special Venues today counts 17 members, do you have “a wish list“ for more members?
A: Paul smiles and mentions that actually there are 19 members as the Tram Museum and the Palais des Congrès will join again when they re-open. And then he quickly sums up – and comments – following venues:
Atomium, an absolute must in Brussels
Cartoon Museum, such a splendid venue, 
Surf House and Claridge, newcomers but with great potential
Wolubilis, heard many good things about it
Mini-Europe, another classic in Brussels 
 (Scoop: Before publication we just heard that Claridge and Mini-Europe have joined the association – congratulations!)

Q: Do you not feel that you are partly doing the job of BITC?
A: As said before, we all greatly appreciate the great support we have received and still receive from Hervé Bosquet and his team. But as an independent group we can go places and say things that they, because of all the politics involved in that office, cannot do and therefore I feel BSV can be seen as a complementary tool for BITC to use in their efforts to secure more conference business for Brussels.

Q: Very diplomatic answer……
A: Well…I am not always that diplomatic…and I am sometimes critical of the way they do business, but Rome was not built in 1 day either and I have the hope that we are all evolving in the same direction to an even closer relationship. I do have pointed questions for them though, like this Brussels Meeting Week. Why spend all that money on trying to make the average inhabitant of Brussels to be more aware of the congress business in their city, when we do not even have all the MICE players firmly aboard? Again, the basic idea is good but I feel there are more pressing issues in our industry that demand our attention …and budgets.

Q. Talk to me about the achievements you are proud of.
A:  (laughs..) Well, there are the MICE street indicators, the ones referring to the main MICE venues and that can be seen all over town by now sporting the Brussels “Eye”. I am very proud that we achieved this – finally – I think they wanted to get rid of me as I had been hammering on this point for years! But here again, I have to underline that Hervé Bosquet has been a staunch supporter and ally for this project. In the same committee meetings we also came up with the idea of the MICE card which BITC has now of course successfully developed.

Q: How was EMIF this year?
A: We have just had the debrief with all our members and it was decided to go back next year and take 12 stands in the Brussels Zone. Overall the reactions to the concept of a communal BSV stand were unanimously positive. The members were not so happy with the low turnout of corporate buyers, the cleanliness of the toilets and the general lay-out of the fair. They were not happy with the ‘gadgets people’ so close by, as they feel they detract from their business. We will also work on improving a few details on our own stand. All in all, a positive experience for our members, a great achievement for our association.

PAUL THIELEMANS ON ….

FAMILY AND RECREATION
As said before, Paul is very driven man and that leaves him little time for recreation. His wife and two sons (7 and 9 years old) “let him do his thing professionally “as he puts it and he is very grateful for that. For the last 4 years Paul has been trainer and also president of the Youth Football Club in his local Steenhuffel….and that takes care of most his free time! Paul used to be a committed sportsman, but a lack of time has made him put all his sporting activities on the backburner.

When pushed to give me the title of his favourite book, Paul deflects by starting about his commitment to the youth football club and ends with saying “I am a bit of a culture no-no, I just do not have the time...” Paul thinks ‘commercial’ first and foremost and his work and association work take a great chunk of his time and attention. The way he approaches work – with total commitment and totally focused on the client – has obviously born great results and his flexibility and attention to detail make him a great partner for an event organiser who chooses to take his event to Les Caves de Cureghem.

MUSIC
Paul discovered Jazz through the theme night “The Cotton Club” organised at work, (were else?) but he really is a great fan of the “heavier” type of music: New Wave and U2. He did go to the U2 concert in Brussels last year but was a bit disappointed and left early…which resulted in him and his wife being interviewed on RTL as they were waiting for reactions and were surprised to see him come out before the end.

FOOD
For honesty’s sake I have to admit that this interview took place over a delicious meal at the restaurant La Paix across the road from the abattoirs, another institution in Brussels for those who like a great piece of meat.

Paul admits to liking Japanese and Mediterranean food, but also the finer French cuisine. But first and foremost he is a great spaghetti lover. “As a child I was given the choice: smoking or eating spaghetti” and he chose spaghetti”. And when one says spaghetti, there is only one address in Brussels: the Pattatezak or “Pee Klak” in Strombeek-Bever, Paul calls it his second home. He also liked a lovely restaurant called “Le Saisonnier” in Opwijk “one does not always have to come to Brussels Centre to eat well!” He does like ‘Bonsoir Clara’ and ‘Vignoble de Margot’ in our Capital.

TRAVEL
Until now -and for the next few years- travel is geared towards the kids and thus the Thielemans Family have been in Turkey, Tuscany, Tunisia, real beach destinations. But he dreams of visiting Canada and Australia to discover the rich fauna and flora of these countries. Same goes for the South-African region, it’s on our list for when the children are a little bit older and can appreciate the magnificence of these countries.

Young and ambitious, but ready to pay homage and respect were due, great character traits in one so young and so committed.

Brussels and the professional Meeting and Event industry are lucky to have such commitment on their side! We have not heard or seen the last of this young man!

Caves de Cureghem
In the heart of Europe, under the covered Market of Anderlecht, you will find the unique location for all your events: The Cureghem Cellars.

The Cureghem Cellars are the ideal venue for banquets, cocktails, functions, staff parties, trade fairs, markets, exhibitions, seminars, dealer meetings, products launches, festivals, galas, prize-givings, balls, parades, showcases and any other kind of event.

Cozy or large-scale, intimate or hallucinating, from 400 to 10,000 m², for 100 guests or 15,000 visitors: in and around the Cureghem Cellars your event is sure to be an unforgettable occasion.

Contact: Paul Thielemans
Paul.thielemans@abatan.be
Cureghem Cellars
Rue Ropsy Chaudron 24 - 1070 Brussels (Belgium)
Tel.: +32(0)2 521 54 19 - Fax: +32(0)2 522 42 37

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