The new boss of Mini-Europe: “We need Brussels to reassure us about our future”

”I was bottle-fed in amusement parks.”. They say the apple never falls far from the tree. At 37 years old, Vinciane Meeùs, granddaughter of Eddy, the founder of Walibi and daughter of Thierry, who established Mini-Europe on the Heysel plateau in Brussels, perpetuates the family history. This summer, the management engineer (UCL) became the new boss of Mini-Europe, succeeding her father, who retired. “But he is always there to advise me.”she smiled.

This transfer of power did not happen overnight. “The discussion on succession dates back several years ago. My two sisters were not interested, I did not hesitate for a second when I was offered to take on this magnificent project. But we had to wait for the good time. I have three young children. Fortunately I have a husband who is there to support me and a very close-knit team. (30 full-time equivalents, Editor’s note) at Mini-Europe. My father also agreed to work until he was 69 so that I would be ready.”. Vinciane knows the house well. She has now been working for the family business for eleven years (five years at the Océade water park, destroyed in 2018, and six years at Mini Europe, the latter park having celebrated its 35th anniversary in June). “The initial project of making models of European monuments was that of a Dutch enthusiast. But his business plan was not good and the park went bankrupt before it even opened. My father, via the Walibi group, bought At the time, he was told that no one would be interested in the European Union.develops the one who also worked for Asco (aeronautics) and the equipment giant Caterpillar.

How is Mini-Europe doing in terms of its attendance?

The summer was a little worse than in previous years. The bad weather and the “competition” from the Paris Olympics probably didn’t help. But we are not the only ones to be in this situation. We see that the whole of northern Europe has not performed very well from a tourism point of view. In 2023, we had 390,000 visitors. This year, we hope to be able to attract more or less 360,000. You should know that our clientele is 80% foreign. For example, we welcome nearly 30,000 Indians every year and we also work with a local caterer to be able to better accommodate them. The Halloween period is coming and that can still give us a little boost, at least if the weather permits.

In recent years, it has been announced that your park is close to closing several times. What about it?

The park is profitable, still attracts as many people and we have no problems at that level. But Mini-Europe is on land rented from the city of Brussels and we therefore depend on the goodwill of the latter. Since 2007, the Brussels authorities have had a major project, called Neo, for the Heysel plateau with a shopping center, apartments, a conference center… After long adventures, we are finally integrated into this project.

And what if Neo never sees the light of day, as some suggest?

Whatever happens, we have a temporary lease until 2032. But we need more certainty to be able to move forward, invest and have a long-term vision. This penalizes us: certain partnerships could not be established with countries because we did not know how to guarantee them a ten-year presence on the site. For the teams too, it’s unmanageable, it creates unnecessary stress. There is demand for this park, wonder among our visitors. And we could still do much better if we are given the tools to do so. Today, we do not know how to introduce permits on the plot because there are these uncertainties about what will become of the plateau.

In your opinion, will the next municipal elections change the situation?

Yes, it will definitely have an impact one way or the other. This has to move. It is not in anyone’s interest to leave such a large area as it is now. It is essential that the political world has a global vision of the entire Heysel plateau. Which is really not the case at the moment. I’ll give you another example: the sports park is being built right next to Mini-Europe. The project is to make a pedestrian area. With the work, we still don’t know how it will be delivered. Which is very problematic. A project is done together, in dialogue with the different partners and with a minimum of analysis.

Relations have often been tense in recent years between the Brussels authorities and Mini-Europe. Do you still have plans to leave the Belgian capital?

A company always has plans B, C or D. So yes, it is always possible. We had contacts with other Belgian and foreign cities who were very interested in the idea of ​​hosting our park. The models are movable. But our primary desire is to stay in Brussels. The place is extraordinary here right next to the Atomium, whose number of visitors jumped by 30% when we arrived at Heysel. Our destinies are linked. We ourselves lost nearly 30% of our attendance when the Atomium was under renovation. The authorities must reassure us. Some collaboration and communication would be welcome so that we can be more confident about our future in Brussels.

Bruparck and Océade, another company of your family, were destroyed. Don’t you feel alone on this set?

Yes. Even if we offer our own catering, it remains a handicap not to have entertainment or restaurants around us. Kinepolis, another “survivor” of the set, has also asked to be able to benefit from a food truck next to its cinemas to fill this gap. As for Océade, which was also located on land belonging to Brussels, the city and the region made the decision to prefer to put apartments and a shopping center (still at the project stage, Editor’s note) rather than having a water park . I hope this choice was considered. Océade worked well – one in 7 Brussels residents came there every year – and the decision to destroy the park by the Brussels authorities remains difficult to understand. Currently, cities are crying for swimming pools. We didn’t cost the city anything. On the contrary, we reported taxes, royalties, attendance, etc. We had partnerships with schools so that students could take their swimming lessons in our swimming pools at reduced prices. We could do it because our installations had been financially amortized. This type of attraction requires huge investments upfront. Even big boxes like Legoland or Madame Tussaud’s no longer come to a city without massive initial subsidies. Plopsaqua in La Panne received more or less 20 million euros in subsidies from neighboring municipalities.

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Brussels has a reputation for being an unsafe and dirty city. Do you feel any reluctance when you promote your park abroad?

No, Brussels sells quite well abroad. We sometimes just miss large groups because of mobility problems.

Mini-Europe presents nearly 80 models of European monuments. Do you sometimes have comments from countries that do not feel represented or are poorly represented?

Very regularly and somewhere, this proves our success. Some countries complain about only having one model, while others have several. We grew up with Europe and when, in 2004, ten Eastern countries joined the Union at once, we had difficulty keeping up. We always have discussions with the authorities of a country before building a new model. They have their requests and we have our criteria too. We want to have a certain diversity and originality in the park, European stories to be able to tell behind a monument. The Hungarians wanted, for example, a model of one of their cathedrals, but we preferred the Széchenyi baths in Budapest which are unique in the world. Romanians often ask us why we chose the Mogosoaia Palace, with its very original architecture, and not their immense parliament to represent them. This palace gives a touch that we did not yet have in the park. We chose the Copenhagen Stock Exchange, not only because it is beautiful but also because this new financial system enabled incredible economic growth in Europe at the time.

Do some states finance their models?

Yes, we have a little less than ten models which were financed, partially or totally, by public authorities. But we always have the last word. On average, a model costs 100,000 euros. this can go up to 400,000 euros for a work such as that representing the Grand-Place in Brussels. We always keep this scale of 1/25 which allows us to see the difference in size between the monuments, but also all kinds of details. When we inaugurated the model of Vilnius University, the rector was there for the inauguration. He told us that we were wrong because, according to him, the building did not have any signs of the zodiac on its front facade. Then when he returned home, he sent us a little email apologizing because these signs are indeed present. We are an outdoor park, subject to bad weather. These models, mainly made of polyester, but also sometimes made of marble or stone, must be regularly maintained. We also recently worked with a 3D printer. In March 2025, we will have two new models for Poland, that of the Łazienki Palace and a monument dedicated to Chopin with his summer concerts.

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In your park, we see demonstrations in defense of the climate, a place reserved for Ukraine… Do you have any political messages to convey?

Our goal is to transmit the passion for the miniature world, but also for the European Union, to our visitors. We distil little information about Europe. This is a first step for those who want to take more interest in it. We have a fairly complete booklet in eleven different languages ​​and if people retain some information, so much the better. We also have discussions with the European authorities on the messages they want to send. Then we decide what we take. The overall message is “Together we do better”. We emphasize the aspects that bring us together rather than those that divide us. We have, for example, a cemetery recalling the horrors of the 14-18 war where the three major religious communities, Christian, Muslim and Jewish, are represented.

Have you noticed a rejuvenation of your audience with social networks?

Generally speaking, 80% of our audience is adults. Everyone has their own motivation when coming here, whether it’s taking a break in a beautiful green park, seeing the destinations of future trips, recalling memories, taking beautiful photos, learning about Europe… We’re pushing more and more fun and interactive attractions with great surprises that will develop in the coming months. In recent years, we have invested very heavily in all kinds of electromechanical activities in the park.