Waterloo bicentenary: Belgium ready to welcome hundreds of thousands of visitors

In 1815 the municipality of Waterloo consisted of a burgeoning cluster of hamlets. Set amid rolling hills, the rural community lay 17km south of Brussels, a city revelling in a prosperous textile trade. Belgium was then part of the French Empire, and Waterloo was a strategic location for an army of European allies determined to prevent its army, under the command of Napoleon, reaching the capital. The paved roads and isolated farmhouses of Mont-Saint-Jean proved to be the perfect setting for a bloody two-day battle, bringing to an end 23 years of conflict.

Today, the Walloon Brabant commune retains a country air, albeit as virtually a suburb of Brussels. And 200 years on, the battlefield is almost unchanged, with open fields, shielded by wooded hills, forming a natural amphitheatre around the imposing Lion’s Mound. It was here that the Anglo-Dutch, under the command of the Duke of Wellington, and the Prussian army led by Gebhard von Blücher fought the outnumbered French. It was carnage: French casualties and losses numbered 24,000 out of a total of 41,000.

For the bicentenary commemorations of Napoleon’s downfall, a carefully coordinated campaign kicks off on 15 June in Wallonia and culminates in Waterloo from 18 to 21 June. More than five thousand people from all over the world are taking part in two re-enactments of the battle, expected to be the largest of its kind in Europe. The opening volley of the programme is a poetic interpretation of the military event by renowned Belgian director Luc Petit, accustomed to working with Franco Dragone. Called Inferno, the spectacular sound and light show will be performed in front of 12,000 spectators on 18 June. Altogether, the events are expected to attract an audience of 120,000. Tickets are sold out for the two re-enactments, while a few remain for the opening ceremony.

If you’re not going to the show or re-enactments, which are likely to be very crowded and difficult to get to, consider visiting over the summer as there are a slew of interesting attractions. Alongside the mound, a newly-opened memorial museum replaces the fatigued visitor’s centre and is set underground to preserve the battlefield site. Other facilities include the Wellington Museum, where the duke slept before and after the battle, and La Belle Alliance, Napoleon’s headquarters. A €5 million refurbishment project at the nearby Hougoumont farm is to be opened in the presence of the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall on 17 June. The British strongpoint was the scene of fierce fighting and financial backing includes €1.2 million from the British government. Two new exhibition spaces are being created along with a theatre and a reception area. All the bicentenary events are being organised by the non-profit Bataille de Waterloo 1815. The new visitor centre – La Belle Alliance – is a consortium of seven Belgian companies.

For Brussels-based military tour guide Willie Mohan, the renovations are “fantastic and long overdue”. He underlines the importance of the encounter: “For a battlefield that was only 5km long and 1.5km deep and a typical 19th-century skirmish, it was the most bloody of battles. I don’t think any other battle changed history as significantly as Waterloo did. It heralded the start of the British Empire, as Britain was able to expand its influence around the world and not get involved in another European conflict for almost another 100 years.”

As a tourist attraction, Waterloo has a chequered history. In the immediate aftermath of the battle, tourists followed ghoulish looters in scouring the battlefield for souvenirs. As families of lost soldiers came to pay homage, the site developed into a major destination. Other visitors wanting to see the scene of the battle included 19th-century writers Sir Walter Scott, Shelley and Victor Hugo. Its popularity abated in the 20th century, as Waterloo was eclipsed by the two world wars. But as a milestone in European history, Waterloo continues to resonate, particularly abroad.

Belgium’s relationship to Napoleon is ambiguous. Accustomed to occupation and reoccupation, its soldiers fought on both sides at Waterloo, with some of Wellington’s Belgian troops having previously fought for Napoleon. It’s lingering affection for the emperor is shown by the country’s newly signposted Route Napoléon, which links various castles in which he stayed, from Hestrud to Waterloo.

Recreating the sights and sounds

Through sulphurous clouds of smoke from 100 cannons, and to the beat of pipes and drums, re-enactors in military uniform and period costume are set to clash in front of a record-breaking 120,000 audience. Among the re-enactors will be galloping cavalrymen on 300 horses, including for the first time the Royal Scots Greys. Another first is the presence of the key protagonists. Wellington, the Iron Duke, is to be played by Alan Larsen from England, Napoleon by French lawyer Frank Samson, the Prince of Orange by Dutchman Eric Edelman and Field Marshall Blücher by German Klaus Beckert.

The first re-enactment on 19 June recreates the French army’s advance of more than 70,000 soldiers. Attacking the hill where the British troops are positioned, they are met by a Belgo-Dutch army, while the British army hides behind the ridge ready to ambush. Hard fighting follows until the British troops emerge and fire at close range on the French army’s elite troops, the Imperial Guard. Meanwhile, combat continues at the top of Mont-Saint-Jean. In this win all/lose all scenario, the outcome is uncertain.

The allied counteract on 20 June sees action concentrated around Hougoumont, the farm strengthened by the British in preparation for a French attack. The fighting starts under the noise of artillery fire and results in heavy casualties. Under fire from the British, the Imperial Guard attempts a final attack, but it ends in failure. Napoleon flees to Paris where he abdicated for a second time on 22 June before being exiled to the island of St Helena. Wellington and Blücher celebrate their victory together in the Belle Alliance Farm. To the victors, the spoils of war; Britain is elevated to a world power and for Prussia, domination of continental Europe.

Inferno

The opening ceremony of the Waterloo 2015 commemorations on 18 June promises to be grandiose. More than 200 artists are to perform on a 150m outdoor stage consisting of a giant chessboard after night falls on the Waterloo battlefield. The hour-long sound and light experience, complete with large screens and fireworks, is a visual interpretation of Victor Hugo’s epic poem The Expiation. Belgian actor Bernard Yerlès is to play the role of Hugo in the narrative portrayal of Napoleon’s 1812 defeat in Moscow and subsequent retreat.

Tournai-born Petit is an artistic director with a global portfolio of spectacular sets and events, including Cirque du Soleil and mega-shows in China. His Belgian hits include the musical Peter Pan, the opening ceremony of Euro 2000 and a sound and light extravaganza in Bastogne to mark the 70th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge in December 2014.

For Inferno, the filmmaker-turned-director is relying on good weather, “although if it rains, that would be closer to the truth,” he says, in reference to the heavy rain that soaked the battleground in 1815. But the key challenge in staging the show is recreating the atmosphere of the historic event. “This is about creating emotion, the theatre of going to war as well as the pomp and ceremony.”

As a boy, Petit loved to play with toy soldiers and constructed a scale model of the battle of Waterloo. “It was the theatre that I loved, the costumes and the music rather than the military aspect. It’s not so different now when creating a show. I’m like a chief of staff, arranging every single aspect; it’s highly technical and a tightly organised operation,” he says.

Anyone for a game of cricket?

One little-known historical fact about Waterloo  is that the first recorded game of cricket in Belgium was played on the eve of the battle by officers of the guards (who protected Hougoumont), in the presence of the Duke of Wellington. The Royal Brussels Cricket Club, situated next to the battlefield, is celebrating by re-enacting the match on 18 June. It has invited the Guards Cricket Club and MCC  to recreate the original game, to be played at 15.00 according to the cricket rules of 1800. It will be watched by ambassadors from cricket-playing nations plus Belgian politicians and is open to the public.

“The game has special significance for us, not only because it was the first recorded game in Belgium, but also because it took place on the occasion of a pivotal moment in history amongst players and an audience of great historical significance. The match was organised by the Duke of Richmond who was one of the finest players in England at the time and one of the three guarantors for Thomas Lord (English cricketer who founded Lord’s Cricket Ground),” says Nick Compton, chairman of the cricket club.

He adds, “The Duke of Wellington was renowned for his calm on the battlefield and no doubt the guards would have been heartened to see him watching cricket with young Lady Lennox (Richmond’s daughter), knowing they would be facing the full might of Napoleon's army in a few days. It was also an opportunity to talk with his officers and formulate strategy ahead of the battle.”

Since its first game in 1815, cricket has expanded in Belgium to include 27 teams in four leagues as well as women’s and junior teams.

This article has been adapted from a feature that first appeared in the Wab magazine, spring 2015