“Growing up, I realized that you could make your dreams come true without having to leave everything and go to the other side of the worldhe confides. I found a rhythm of life that allows me to go play in France, Switzerland and Canada, and to work in Paris, while knowing that, a few nights later, I return home to Namur.” A balance he values. “I have this need to be attached to what constituted me.”
Born in January 1992 in Namur, GuiHome (real name Guillaume Wattecamps) grew up in the town of Assesse. He spent his childhood on the benches.from the Erpent college and the Saint-Louis Institute in Namur”, at the edge of the Géronsart tennis club courts “because my sister played it every weekend“or in the declamation and diction rooms at the Conservatoire à Jambes,” he says, with a smile in his voice. Before tasting the pleasures of a festive youth, “with the first evenings, the first Walloon Festivals, the Place du Vieux, my first money spent with Namur merchants”. Over the years, “I made friends, friends until I created projects and, there, I became an actor in my city”. “So, it’s true that I formed a special bond with Namur.” “This does not mean that I have renounced the rest of the world, he nuancesbut I am very proud that most of the week I sleep at home, in Namur.”
Namur, new stronghold of humor
Namur has therefore become an obvious choice for GuiHome to launch its own comedy festival in 2022. “I wanted us to be able to say, ‘Ah yes! I know Namur and its festival well. So, I got up one morning and created Namur is a Joke with my loved ones.” And this bet, by his admission “a bit of a pain in the ass”was met with flying colors since the festival will hold its 4th edition from March 25 to 30, 2025.
Namur is a Joke, “it was a drag, but we did it!”
“When I see the names that have already passed through Namur is a Joke (Jarry, Anthony Kavanagh, Ahmed Sylla, Laurence Bibot, Nicolas Lacroix, Zidani, PE…, Editor’s note)we no longer have anything to envy of other big citieswelcomes GuiHome. It’s gratifying that Namur, through humor, can also claim to be a must-see. There are hundreds of us involved trying to get the city moving, but, on my scale, I’m happy to have been able to create a little piece of Namur’s history.”
Humor and notoriety: “The TV effect still works”
And the comedian continues to write the history of his city since he opened the first boutique in 2023, at the foot of the Citadel. Your Mother the Waffle (a second has just been inaugurated in Louvain-la-Neuve), which offers a typical Namur waffle, whose oval shape recalls the confluence between the Meuse and the Sambre.
GuiHome in politics?
“Namur is growing, evolving. But it’s true that it’s not easyhe admits, because Namur is facing an unprecedented crisis: like everywhere, many businesses and restaurants are closing.” “But we must also see those who open up and support them”defends GuiHome, who loves discovering new places to brunch, have a drink, dine… “Compared to Flanders, Wallonia has always been very shy and humble when it comes to tourism, talent, etc. But being a little chauvinistic is not being pretentious. It’s just being proud of your roots. So , I am rather proud to claim that I am from Namur.”
Very involved in his city – “a big project is still planned by the end of the year…” – Has GuiHome never been attracted by the sirens of politics? His answer is clear: “I am interested in politics as a citizen, but you will never see me on an election poster. Only on a show poster.”
