Bees are a fundamental building block of the world's ecosystems, so World Bee Day is an important day to mark, even more so with the stress that our natural systems are under these days.

In 2021, the Belgian Embassy bought 5 established beehives and in 2022 has taken the benefits of our bees’ productivity a step further. We are using the proceeds of our honey sales to support Ukrainian beekeepers who have lost their hives due to the war or have taken up arms to defend their country and could therefore no longer tend to their hives. 

For the second year in a row, our bees have been struggling to make honey, due to the weather. We have only a very limited harvest, as we have to ensure we leave our bees enough honey to get them through winter. But that won't stop us from enjoying another .befair and raise as much funds as we can for our friends in Ukraine.

So on 19 May between 11am and 3pm, the Belgian Embassy will open its gates again for you, your friends and family for a great day of bee fun. Maya the Bee will welcome you and gladly show you to the Embassy hives, where expert volunteers will tell you all there is to know about the wonderful world of bees. There will be delicious food and drinks to enjoy while listening to awesome live music, our colleagues from other EU Embassies will have interesting facts and delicious goods to share, while the kids village -with jumping castle!- will keep the young ones entertained. And of course, our giant raffle is not to be missed, with plenty of amazing prizes to win. So loads to do and see for the entire family, knowing your contributions will help support the Ukrainian beekeepers.

This is a zero waste event, which even earned us the ACT's 2022 Climate Choices Sustainable Event Award. Last year, we managed to keep our waste-to-landfill down to less than 1 standard household wheelie bin thanks to the shared efforts of our participants and visitors. We aim to do even better this year, so feel free to bring keep cups and water bottles to refill, be mindful of your mode of transport and follow the recycling guidelines provided. We and our bees will be very grateful!

For donations to help the Ukrainian Beekeepers, please click here.