Cat Craze: Brussels releases cat video to boost local spirits

There’s nothing like a cute cat video to lighten the mood, something that Belgium’s tourist boards are certainly banking on.

Following a tense five-day security lockdown in Brussels in the wake of the Paris attacks, local police asked the public to refrain from sharing details of their operations on social media. The locals responded en masse by tweeting and instagramming pictures of their cats instead, with the hashtag #BrusselsLockdown.

Capitalizing on the cat craze, Belgium’s three tourist boards – Tourism Flanders, Visit Brussels and Wallonia-Brussels Tourism – recently released a 20-second video of various cats dancing at Brussels landmarks. The Guardian reports that the tourist authorities wanted to show how proud they were of Brussels and its residents for their good-humoured response to the crisis.

“Tourism Flanders, Visit Brussels and Wallonia-Brussels Tourism are proud of the people of Brussels and wanted to give them an extra boost,” they said. “Their winking cats evoked great sympathy at home and abroad.”

To watch the video, click here:

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