World record: 35,681 spectators at exceptional tennis match organised under the Belgian Presidency
The “Best of Belgium” event began yesterday evening, in brilliant sunshine at the King Baudouin stadium in Brussels, with a series of concerts and jubilant entry of many well-know names in Belgian sports.
In addition to being a sporting event, “Best of Belgium” is also a music event. Presenters Koen Wauters and Sandrine Corman announced no fewer than 16 Belgian artists accompanied by a group of 12 musicians directed by Michel Bisceglia.
With tennis being the theme for the evening, several artists took part in “doubles”. Daan and Jo Lemaire launched the evening with the song ’Encore’. Sandrine and Leki followed with ‘Word Up’ and the musical event continued with contributions from Maurane, Sandra Kim and Jasper Steverlinck.
The opening ceremony then began. And who better to represent the “Best of Belgium” than all the major sports personalities? Kim Gevaert, Dominique Monami, Sabine Appelmans, Gella Vandecaveye, Tia Hellebaut, Robert Vandewalle, Frederik Deburghgraeve and Gaston Roelants were therefore warmly applauded on the athletics track.
Clearly, however, everyone’s attention was focused on the protagonists for this exceptional evening event. After a lap of honour, Serena Williams, Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin were personally welcomed by their Royal Highnesses Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde. It was then time for the tennis to begin!
Before the first ball was played, Koen Wauters and Sandrine Corman had the pleasure of hearing the very welcome news: the world record for a tennis match crowd had been achieved; 35,681 people were present at the King Baudoin stadium. The previous record had been 30,472 visitors in 1973: Billie Jean King against Bobby Riggs at the Houston Astrodome during the “Battle of the Sexes”.
Kim Clijsters beat Serena Williams in two sets, 6-3, 6-2, in a match umpired by Martina Navratilova.
The evening ended with a superb duo between Ozark Henry and Toots Thielemans, with the twinkling flashes of a fireworks display rounding off this highly memorable evening.
