The US embassy's divisive birthday bash

About this episode

The episode discusses the controversy surrounding the U.S. embassy's 250th birthday celebration in Brussels and its implications.

The U.S. embassy’s mega 250th birthday bash in Brussels is one of the most sought-after events for the city’s top brass ... but it’s also drawing ire. Today on the show, Zoya Sheftalovich and Ian Wishart discuss why MEPs and environmental activists are growing increasingly frustrated with this American July 4th celebration. The event is set to be attended by 5,000 people and will shut down the public Cinquantenaire park for up to 36 hours. Also on the show, we got our hands on the spending figures of lobby groups in the EU capital. Which country doles out the most cash to influence policymaking? We break it down. And finally: The FIFA World Cup officially kicks off today, so we ranked the tournament’s countries by metrics other than footie. If you have comments, do send us a voice note or message us on WhatsApp here or at +32 491 05 06 29. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People in this episode

Hosts: Zoya Sheftalovich, Ian Wishart

Topics covered

• US embassy
• Brussels events
• environmental activism
• lobbying in EU
• FIFA World Cup

Keywords

• US embassy
• Brussels
• July 4th celebration
• environmental activists
• lobby groups
• FIFA World Cup

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: U.S. embassy

Places: Brussels, Cinquantenaire park

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