News
Find the main intercontinental European airports, high-speed train stations and pre/post-rambles locations served by convenient regional airports.
Just a high-level map at this early stage to give you an idea of connections in Europe.
Now can you pin the Manneken Pis onto the map?
2014 Cheers from your Project Manager
18 visiting kennels are now commited , latest entries being:
* Kuala Lumpur H3 aka Mother Hash, Malaysia
* Kuala Lumpur Harriettes H3, Malaysia
* Hannover H3, Germany
7 pre/post-rambles are in the starting blocks:
* BE-The Bus Tour from HHHell! #5: "Tour de Belgium revisited", 5 days, 2x40 pax
* NL-Amsterdam Canal Hash, 23 or 30 July, 100 pax
* NL-Dutch Nash Hash 2014, 18-20 July, 200 pax
* DE-Breweries and Castles Tour of Germany, TBA
* FR-DIVA Champagne Tour, 5 days (Alsace, Champagne, Paris)
* UK-Glasgow Commie Hash, 18-21 July, 100 pax
* EI-Dublin Paddywhack weekend, TBA
Other major cities such as London and Madrid have already expressed interest to welcome visiting hashers.
That's 7 of the Top-10 European airports covered. Take your time to explore then jump on the high-speed train to Brussels from:
* Amsterdam (1h53, € 80 return)
* Frankfurt (2h45, € 98 return)
* Paris (1h22, € 58 return)
* London (1h57, € 75 return)
One thing for sure: you'll be spoilt for choice! Whether you're into pilsner, wheat, Guinness or abbey-style beers we've got it covered. Same on the wine front with sparkling, white and red then even a wee bit of single malt for the whisky lovers.
Thirsty? I would!
On On to discovering Europe one drink at the time!
Higgins, Chairman and "bon vivant"
15 visiting kennels have already committed 6 hashers each for haring on Saturday and Sunday. More are th*nking about it ... seriously.
EUROPE
* Brussels H3
* Copenhagen H3
* First UK Full Moon H3
* London H3
* Milton Keynes H3
* Munich H3
* Oxford H3
* Stockholm H3
* Yorkshire H3
plus the European BallBreaker team (Automatic Balls, Loping Scrotum, Biggles & Hazukashii)
AMERICA
* Atlanta Area H3
* Colorado H3
* DC H3
* Pittsburgh H3
ASIA
* Klang H4
Moreover Deep Throat and Zulu Boy - the original hares of the very first RDR ever - will be leading a dozen San Diego H3 hashers for organising the Brussels 2014 Red Dress Run. You will even have a chance to personally meet The Lady In Red, the former Playboy bunny who inspired the RDR craziness. All pledge holders of course!
Checking...
A great video on Belgian beers as well as the history of the country by Tim Webb, author of the indispensable Good Beer Guide Belgium.
This video showcases the Cantillon brewery that produces the unique gueuze and kriek through open fermentation. The brewery is located in Anderlecht, a district of Brussels, only 30 minutes by foot from Grand Place.
Very refreshing for the start of spring.
Santé!
Higgins, VP GoNAD Open Beer University
On-line pledges are now sold out !!
Last one bought by Goldilocks (Holzwickede H3) this Sunday lunch time on the shore of Lake Constanz.
We now stand at 1,850 (!) with the remaining 150 earmarked for the Great Hash Migration in Mombasa and World InterHash 2012 in Jogjakarta.
On On to Brussels 2014!
Higgins, Captain of the party boat
Our on-line store will be closing this coming Sunday @ 20:14. For your last-minute shopping go to:
http://register.interhash2014.com/registrations/add/
Just make sure to sign up and pay in one go (automated system). We accept PayPal, Visa, Mastercard and American Express.
Pledge price is still €36.69 with one year credit for paying the balance and will allow you to save €20 on the registration fee.
... 20-14 ...
On On!
Higgins, Chairman
Dates are 25-27 July 2014 with the Red Dress Run on Thursday 24.
Venue and dates are now casted in stone after meeting Tour & Taxis manager this Tuesday and confirming our option. If you want to see what the venue looks like go to our photo album and check The Plan. The venue is modular with 4 sheds totalling 12,000 m2 (multiply by 10 for square feet) i.e. a footprint 20% bigger than the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff. Sheds are contiguous and separated by (huge) sliding doors.
We'll be using between 1 and 3 sheds depending on the number of participants so it will be the right fit, not too big neither too small. That's waaayyy more space than the recommended event management standard of 1 m2 per participant.
And if the weather is really nice there's an esplanade in front of the sheds calling for a beer garden :-)
FYI the party place is a subset of a huge 25 ha outdoor space that will eventually be fully developed into a new district of Brussels by 2020.
In the mean time the venue is licensed for playing music any day until 2am. Guess when the party wil stop? Last call by 1:30, hashficially ;-)
On On to Borobudur!
Higgins, Chairman with a huge... venue
Another milestone for the Brussels 2014 project today since we decided to do business with Haacht Brewery (www.haacht.com). The deal will include 4 of our 7 beers and the wine as well.
We're talking about 36,000 liters of beer and 4,000 liters of wine. Besides being a family-owned brewery where you speak to a person rather than an employee they also have amazing logistics - we're talking tankers and pipelines, not kegs. Actually the brewery has its own Event Manager and a Special Services department equiped with 154 mobile taps plus pipelines that can be extended and/or refrigerated by water!!
The whole equipment - including 100 meters of bar - will be provided for free while we get a 25% discount on wholesale price for cans and 50% for kegs errrr I mean tankers.
The 4 beers we tasted and selected are Primus (5.2 % pilsner), White (5,1 % wheat), Tongerlo blond (6,5 % abbey-style blond) and Tongerlo Bruin (6.5% abbey-style dark).
For the wine we'll have to sacrifice the committee in summer and pay a visit to the brewery for wine tasting (it sounds strange, doesn't it?). Selected wines (one red one, one white one) will be from the brewery own vineyards in France.
I guess I deserve a beer (or two) now!
Next week the venue...
Cheers from beer paradise indeed!
Higgins, Chairman with a HUGE smile and COLD beer in hand
'nuff said!
On On to Brussels 2014!
Higgins, Chairman with a BIG smile
The first information session with local hares for reviewing the draft selection criteria and proposed run sites took place yesterday evening.
We're rather comfortable with an approved shortlist of 38 to eventually reach our target of 30 run sites compliant for hosting up to 200 hashers.
Each run site will offer a choice of 2 trail lengths between short (4-6 km), medium (6-9 km) and long (10-15 km). Sunday offering will be a subset of Saturday.
Saturday will also present a Ball Breaker (21+ km running) and a Ball Bender (15+ km walking).
Since Belgium is blessed with many historical cities we'll have several sightseeing trails on offer in Brussels, Leuven and Mechelen. The others will mostly be in the countryside and/or forests.
To optimise party time we're aiming at 80% of the bus journeys taking less than 45 minutes. Upon return we'll stop close to your hotel at one of the designated drop-off points.
Time to buy new shoes??
Check-ing!
Higgins, Chairman in need of more exercice
A very good start with 17 sold on opening day and a total of 99 during the first month.
We now stand at 1,670 pre-registered hashers.
On Up to 2,014!
Higgins, Chairman
We had the idea, now we also have the technology!
Pledges Mk II are now available on-line @ € 36.69 while stocks last.
To grab this good deal go to:
http://register.interhash2014.com/registrations/add/
The registration process is simple but must be completed in one go:
1) fill in your personal data
2) press the SUBMIT button
3) press the PAY NOW button
4) pay via the PayPal interface
Here you can either pay using a PayPal account (top right option) or a credit card (bottom right option).
Once you have registered AND paid you will receive a confirmation message. -> NO payment = NO registration.
Please note at this stage you can only register+pay one hasher at a time. For signing up another hasher you'll have to repeat the 4 steps again.
Hashy new year from beer paradise!
--
On On to Brussels 2014!
Higgins, Bid Chairman
Psssttt... Want a sneak preview at what we'll have on offer in summer 2014?
Beery Xmas!
Higgins, Chairman
With another 201 pledges sold at Pan Asia and the remaining in Kuala Lumpur this weekend we are now sold out of original pledges!!
Top-5 kennels are:
* Palm Family H3 (Indonesia) with 68 hashers
* Brussels Manneke Piss H3 (Belgium) with 32 hashers
* Tawau H4 (Malaysia) with 30 hashers
* Klang H4 (Malaysia) with 28 hashers
* Austin H3 (U.S.A.) with 25 hashers
Top-5 countries are:
* U.S.A. with 305 hashers
* Australia with 269 hashers
* England with 247 hashers
* Malaysia with 197 hashers
* Indonesia with 125 hashers
We will open another range of Pledge MkII around Xmas and this time on-line but first I need some sleep ;-)
On On to Brussels 2014!
Higgins, Chairman with a BIG smile
Ultimate lucky winners of the pledge draw for a fully paid-up registration are:
* Draw n°11 [1,400-1,499]: #1,448 Tji Lien, Pelita H3 (Indonesia)
* Draw n°12 [500-599]: #521 Jimmy Leggett, Mother Hash (Malaysia)
* Draw n°13 [151-250]: #220 Preacher, Royal Lake Club H4 (Malaysia)
* Draw n°14 [the rest]: #499 S&M, Coffs Harbour H3 (Australia)
Brussels 2014 - Still the best Return-on-Investment in 2011 ... regardless!
On Out with 1,569 pledges!
Higgins - Bid Chairman
A big thank you is in order for those hashers who volunteered countless hours at the promotion booth and beyond for selling pledges.
* Hardy Boy & Rooster (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
* Hot Dick & Icebox (San Francisco, U.S.A.)
* Tazzy Crumpet & Mad Cow (Brisbane, Australia)
* Fire in da Ho (Wellington, New Zealand)
* BarterBitch (Melbourne, Australia)
Many others helped for a few hours here and there manning the promotion booth, moving stuff around or bringing us refreshment.
Special mention to Enos (Perth, Australia) who seemed to have traveled as much as I did this year and was always here, there and everywhere for tackling whatever background job was needed.
Hail to the team and the active ambassadors!
On On to Borobudur 2012!
Higgins - Chairman with a BIG smile ;-)
Remember there is only one World InterHash, it's in Jogjakarta (Java, Indonesia) next May 25-27. And that's where the vote for InterHash 2014 will be taking place.
The "One hasher, One vote" policy will be strictly enforced and you have to be in attendance to cast your vote - no proxy! The voting process has been designed by the Organising Committee with inputs from all bidders and is now casted in stone after agreement from King Kong (Java 2012), Ma Hai (Hainan 2014) and Higgins (Brussels 2014 ;) during PanAsia in Bandung.
So it's time to make your mind and save USD 50!
To be complete let's mention the same deadline applies for The Great Hash Migration taking place the w/e before in Mombasa (Kenya).
Selamat malam & Hakuna matata!
Higgins
Latest lucky winners of the pledge draw for a fully paid-up registration are:
* Draw n°8 [1,100-1,199]: #1,180 Purple Pecker Eater, Columbian H3 (U.S.A.)
* Draw n°9 [1,200-1,299]: #1,243 Tie Me Down Dick, Tampa Bay H3 (U.S.A.)
* Draw n°10 [1,300-1,399]: #1,337 Maid Marion, Sydney Northern Beaches (Australia)
Brussels 2014 - Still the best Return-on-Investment in 2011 ... regardless!
On Up to 1,500 pledges!
Higgins - Bid Chairman
Mussels kindly volunteered his current pad - the Belgian Ambassador residence - for a Belgian beer tasting in Kuala Lumpur.
Brussels 2014 supporters gathered this Sunday for a taste of Belgium which included Stella Artois, Hoegaarden and Leffe - service courtesy of the local Brussels Beer Café. A quiet evening if it wasn't for the 160 litres of beer syphoned by the 80-100 attendees.
Another succesfull mission (and 30 more pledge holders)!
Higgins, Chairman and GoNAD Beer University VP
Klang H4 has now 28 pre-registered hashers, 1 more than host club BMPH3. Congrats!
Cheers from "Where It All Began"!
Higgins, on tour in Asia
Good sales at InterAmerica this w/e in Savannah.
But even more impressive is the unprecedented 50% hit ratio on a regular trail with the Austin H3 late September. 50 participants, 25 signed up!
The Body - AH3 Hash Cash - assisted those with not enough cash via a cool app and hardware for iPhone (https://squareup.com)
On On to Mekong IndoChina!
Higgins, Brussels 2014 Sales Director ;-)
Lucky winners of the pledge draw for a fully paid-up registration are:
* Draw n°5 [800-899]: #853 Glass Woman, Kota Kinabalu Bunnies H3 (Malaysia)
* Draw n°6 [900-999]: #932 Padre, Riviera H3 (France)
* Draw n°7 [1,000-1,099]: #1,067 Lips, Plympton H3 (England)
Brussels 2014 - Still the best Return-on-Investment in 2011 ... regardless!
On Up to 1,250 pledges!
Higgins - Bid Chairman
With enough hotel rooms for hosting 23,000 guests (this is not a typo) you won't have a problem finding a good deal during the off-peak summer season (15-JUL to 15-AUG).
A hotel room for 2 participants incl. full buffet breakfast should be in the EUR 75 to EUR 140 price range depending on the rating of the hotel (3*-4*-5*).
Additionally there are 700+ hostel beds at EUR 25 pppn incl. continental breakfast.
All hotels and hostels are located within a 3-km (2-mi) radius from Grand Place, Brussels historic square in the city centre.
We aim to finalise a deal during Q1 2012, in due time for Borobudur 2012 InterHash!
On On to a good night of sleep!
Higgins, Brussels 2014 Chairman
With 1,000+ committed hashers it was about time to publish who's supporting our bid.
So here comes the pledge list updated today.
Entries in red denote a pledge that is not yet fully validated due to missing personal data. Please tell those hashers to get in touch with us ASAP.
On Out to a HHHell of a party!
Higgins, Brussels 2014 Chairman
Good sales at UK NH this past weekend, breaking the 1,000 pledges barrier at the speed of real ale!
We're not on FaceBook, Twitter or other open-to-all social networks but you can find us on HashSpace (of course!).
Just go to www.hashspace.com , login and search for the Brussels 2014 group. Then click on the "Join Brussels 2014" button on the top right of the group page. This forum will help you to keep automatically abreast (oh yeah!) of this project developments.
If you're not a HashSpace member yet (16,500 to date) ask a fellow hasher to introduce you or ask us via the contact form on this website.
In the meantime welcome to Sister Maria, our latest group member #358!
On On HashSp@ce!
Higgins, Brussels 2014 Chairman
The initial 1,000 pledge target looks closer than ever...
ASI Gispert, the main founder of the Hash House Harriers, was born 108 years ago today!
Save $25 by registering online by August 31st.
Lucky winners of the pledge draw for a fully paid-up registration are:
* Draw n°3 [600-699]: #655 VD Viking, SPOR&DIC H3 (Sweden)
* Draw n°4 [700-799]: #725 Goldwing, Hannover H3 (Germany)
Brussels 2014 - Still the best Return-on-Investment in 2011 ... regardless!
On Up to 1,000 pledges!
Higgins - Bid Chairman
The 13th edition of this event will see 47 breweries presenting a total of 200 beers. Not the best beer tasting in Belgium - we're picky - but the best setting in the middle of a World Heritage site.
Local hashers usually pay a visit on Friday (6pm-10pm) and/or Saturday (11am-9pm). On Sunday 3pm it's time for hashing with BMPH3.
Give it a chance and get in touch if you happen to be around!
Cheers from beer paradise! (We told you)
Higgins, VP GoNAD Beer University
We just finished a very efficient 3-hour meeting of the bid committee. I have to say pretty much everything is under control and looking good. The three main subjects were marketing and sales, project management and building up the event budget.
Marketing & Sales
799 pledges have been sold so far this year and we still have some big events coming up, the Top 5 being:
* Borneo Nash Hash (957) in July
* UK Nash Hash (620) in August
* InterAmerica (1,500) in October
* Klang H4 30th anniversary (800) in November
* PanAsia (2,698) in November
So we revised our initial sales target of 1,000 and raised the bar to 1,250 pledges sold by 31-DEC-2011
Project Management
Today we're switching from a "best effort" to a strict "project mode" approach with deliverables, deadlines and realistic commitments. We have identified 7+1 workflows for the bid phase:
* WF-1 Marketing
* WF-2 Sales
* WF-3 ICT
* WF-4 Trail
* WF-5 Finance
* WF-6 Legal
* WF-7 WIH 2012
* WF-0 Project Management
To make sure we reach our deadlines with the necessary quality we have appointed a Project Manager for helping us. A very good deal since he's a recently retired hasher with a long experience of organising BIG hash events as well as Quality Assurance. Currently busy drafting the Project Plan and Action List.
Event Budget
We've listed all budget items in a spreadsheet and will fill the blanks (costs) over the next 6 months. Unsurprisingly the Top 5 will be food, beverages, transport, venue and goodie bag.
We also wants to minimise the promotion (2% max) and administration (5% max) costs. More money for food and beer!
On On to Brussels 2014!
Higgins, Bid Chairman
For a population of 10 millions Belgium boosts a total of 10,000 bars. Unfortunately so far it was a much smokey affair so a night in the pub would mean putting your clothes in the washing machine the next day.
This now belongs to the past since a smoking ban officially started today. So your Belgian beer will taste even better and you'll save on washing!
Smoking hot harriettes are fine, of course ;-)
APRIL
* Melaka World Heritage (~1,400 pax)
* London 2,000th (~300 pax)
MAY
* Africa Hash (~300 pax)
* Bay to Breakers (~270 pax)
* Belgian Nash Hash (~100 pax)
* EuroHash (~540 pax)
JUNE
*Moscow 1,500th (~50 pax)
*InterScandi (~100 pax)
EuroHash 2011 is over and was a great success beside a rocky start with accommodation on Friday. Brussels 2014 adopted one of the bar and dispensed 24 crates of various Belgian beers, ranging from the "safe" Palm (5.0%) to the more potent Rochefort 10 Trappist (11.3%).
Saturday night was also the occassion to present our new promotional item in the form of a drinking vessel. The first 250 visitors of our Belgian bar that night received one plus a free Belgian beer.
Incidentally we sold 140 pledges that weekend (25% hit rate!), now reaching a new tally of 780.
On On to Moscow 1,500th in two weeks!
Higgins - sometime home, never alone
Still one year before the result of the Interhash vote is announced on the magnificent world heritage site of Borobudur. In case you just woke up competitors are:
* Brussels
* Hainan
* Fiji
Thanks for your support so far, the momentum is definitely here!
Cheers from Beer Paradise!
Higgins, Bid Chairman
Following a "quiet" GoNAD 200th gathering cum pubcrawl last night downtown Brussels today is the start of a discovery Tour of Belgium, hash-style.
7 days, 42 beers and many places of interest later (historical cities, national park, breweries, ...) 36 hashers should be more knowledgeable on what Belgium has to offer to visitors off the beaten track.
Cheers to HHHell in Beer Paradise!
Higgins, Tour Leader
Good sales at London 2,000th and Africa Hash in Addis Abeba! Two different events, two different continents yet same number of participants (~300) and same number of pledges sold (~45). Looking good for reaching the 1,000 mark by the end of this year :-)
Higgins, travelling salesman with a cause
"Cause we want to get pissed!"
Following a very interesting and open chat with two Malaysian hashers last month I would like to clarify one important point: all people hashficially involved in the bid effort are doing it for fun, on their free time and without any form of personal compensation besides the odd free beer (usually paid by another hasher from his/her own pocket anyway).
That also applies to the air fares for my own numerous trips abroad. Let's face it I am lucky being able to afford a sabbatical 2011 year while extensively travelling around the world at the same time visiting friends, doing some sightseeing, hashing and - yes - promoting Brussels 2014 bid. No miracle beyond it, just sound financial management of personal assets over 20 years!
The most refreshing aspect of this exercice is also to prove the hashing world you do NOT need big money from your regional tourism ministry or an elusive corporate sponsor to raise interest and put a (hopefully) successful bid on. Time and word-of-mouth works as well!
Brussels 2014 promotion budget was raised via the sale of Early Birds from 2006 to 2008 then by using 20% from the Pledges sale in 2011. All together we are limiting our promotional expenses to 2% of the overall event budget.
The only perk the ambassadors received was a free polo shirt while the stock lasted. Don't dream, it's over :-(
Now what about that FREE beer? Belgian, of course!
On On to Brussels 2014!
Higgins, Bid Chairman
Finally back home after 7 weeks on the road first in Australia then throughout Asia (Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia). Big contrast so far between the strong enthusiasm of the Aussies for our Brussels bid versus the low interest/awareness of the Asians for any 2014 bid.
Great time all over with some challenging trails in Bali for Bali2 1,000th and with Mother Hash on a regular Monday outing.
Enjoyable sites visit to Jogjakarta under the drinking wing of Disco Wanker with a sneak preview of the "control room" where Midget Molester is planning Java 2012, all 747 parts of it. Bir Bintang rocks under the tropics!
Time for some rest and Belgian beers
Zzzzz... Higgins
JANUARY
* New Zealand NH (~120 pax)
FEBRUARY
* Aussie NH (~1,020 pax)
MARCH
* PI Hash Bash (~150 pax)
* Bali2 1,000 (~200 pax)
Lucky winners of the pledge draw for a free registration are:
* Draw n°1 [251-350]: #330 Jumbo Haggis, Park Beach H3 (Australia)
* Draw n°2 [351-450]: #379 Azaria, Townsville H3 (Australia)
Lucky winner of the raffle ticket draw is:
* Raffle n°1: Hooka, Wagga Wagga H3 (Australia)
Brussels 2014 - Possibly the best Return-on-Investment in 2011 ... regardless!
On On the Road Again!
Higgins - Bid Chairman
The Tasmanian hashing community proved again that they can put on top hash events with an incredible Aussie NH 2011 and a record attendance just above the 1,000 mark. Perfectly organised, interesting trails, great fun and offering a fantastic choice of drinks and food - what else could a hasher wish for?
The Brussels 2014 ambassadors team did a great job at advertising our bid and exploded our sales target by convincing 201 hashers to buy a pledge. Actually we sold half over the 3 days of registration while the other half went like berocca under 3 hours on Sunday afternoon.
Congratulations to Mad Cow & Tazzy Crumpet, Hot Dick & Icebox, Puff, Fire N Da Ho & Deep Throat as well as Jackoff for their help manning the promotion desk.
On On to a seriously hot bid campaign in 2011!
Higgins, Bid Chairman
Save $25 by registering online by February 28th.
Expect to see many Brussels 2014 ambassadors on the road this year! We will be attending all major hash events and should have a promotional stand in the registration area at each continental gatherings.
We have been good boys in 2010 (sorry about that!) so Santa Claus brought us a lot of bright ideas.
Beside distributing the new 2011 flyer we will be selling pledges and raffle tickets.
The pledge not only guarantees you the cheapest registration fee (only available to pledge holders!), it also automatically enters you in a draw for winning a free registration (1/100 odds). We will even throw in a limited edition patch for free. Pricing is €25 cash and we shall be accepting major hard currencies for your convenience.
The raffle ticket gives you a chance to win a free pledge (1/50 odds) while gambling as little as £€$3. Add another £€$2 for a limited edition patch on top.
Please note that all these promotional items are only available off line so no armchair hashing this time ;-)
On On to a year of promotion around the world!
Higgins, Bid Chairman
This long and wet meeting focused on promotion in 2011. We reviewed the final draft of the new flyer and talked about pledges and raffle tickets.
All new promotional stuff will be launched at Aussie Nash Hash in Hobart, Tasmania (February 25-27).
Look out for our pissboy on his best behaviour ;-)
On On to 2014!
Higgins, Bid Chairman
Thanks to Cyberflasher you can now discover the bid committee CV's, our bid status and a new promotional video. We have also added some colours with our banner that was unveiled in Kuching. Enjoy!
Higgins, Bid Chairman
Even for a hasher that should be long enough to make your mind. Talking of which our bid website will be upgraded in just a few days with new content including a promotional video.
Did we forget to mention our new ad is on the back page of Harrier International 2011 Q1 edition? Damn it, must be the festive season ;-)
Check it out on page 47 of Harrier Magazine
And for those who keep asking the event date will be 25-27 July 2014.
I knew there were several reasons for scheduling Brussels 2014 in summer...
As I met with XYZ and Tipm (respectively Perth 2008 Chairman and Goodie Bag Manager) this first Saturday of December I was reminded fair weather is one of these. The falling snow gave us a very good reason to get inside for a few warmers. After the first Glühwein of the season we settled for Belgian beers. To be perfectly honest we first had a 1-hour working session while perfectly sober before productivity and focus started dropping. A very instructive and fun day out followed by a good night sleep.
Thanks to our Aussie visitors for sharing the highs and lows of their hand-on experience at organising an InterHash. If you are from Down Under and want to check how strong Belgian beer is XYZ might be your man ;-)
Cheers from (snowy white) Beer Paradise!
Higgins, Chairman
Thinking about it since 2004 - Cardiff
Thinking about it SERIOUSLY since 2006 - Chiang Mai
Thinking about it SERIOUSLY online since 25-OCT-2008
This year we secured support from the local authorities then selected the venue, the brewery and the bus company. I guess it is not bad 4 years ahead ;-)
Cheers from Beer Paradise!
Higgins, Chairman
Save $30 by registering online before October 1st. You can now pay using a credit card!
It is the number of days left until we open the festivities in Brussels. That is if YOU decide to vote for us in Java 2012!
The last thing you want is to subcontract drinks to a brewery to find their beer is not to everyone taste.
So we blindfolded 5 handpicked hashers on BMPH3 circle this Sunday and fed them 6 different pils: Maes, Jupiler Blue, Vedett, Primus, Stella Artois and Jupiler N/A. To be sure, to be sure!
Without any coercion everyone picked Primus as the best of the lot. Conveniently it is the pils produced by Haacht brewery, our partner for 2014!
No need for tasting the abbey-style, it already passed with flying colours at Belgian Nash Hash 2010.
Next tasting: the wheat beer.
Cheers from Beer Paradise!
Higgins, VP GoNAD Open Beer University
This meeting focused on the debriefing from Kuching WIH (lessons learned, promotion results and competition) in order to fine tune our stategy.
A very productive brainstorming session it was, resulting in an action list for completion by the end of this year.
Expect one or two major announcements plus a new flyer by February 2011 !
On On to Brussels 2014!
Higgins - Bid Chairman
Weather in Brussels this weekend was brilliant with temperatures of 27°C / 80°F (day) and 16°C / 60°F (night) plus daylight from 6:00 to 21:30.
Mombasa (Kenya) and Jokjakarta (Java, Indonesia) were competing for the privilege to play host city to the next World InterHash.
Discowanker and its team won 60% of the votes so off to Indonesia over the last w/e of May 2012 with promise of Borobudur temples as the background to the venue.
Hakuna matata since Kenya will nevertheless host an event the weekend before.
Anyone working for an airline ? ;-)
Located in the Hash Bazaar, our promotional booth was difficult to miss thanks to 3 big blue 15ft x 3ft banners produced a few days before in KL, courtesy of Hardy Boy.
Many visitors with relevant questions stopped by plus the "odd" ones only looking for freebies.
We actually had about 250 T-shirts from previous events recycled with our motto to give away and so did we. Empty cupboards at last!
On Friday night we had 5 minutes on stage for a short skit and promotional video. The low setting of the screen was anything but optimal and the ambassadors on stage seemed to distract the part of the audience who could actually see the screen. Thanks to the many feedbacks received we know exactly what to do and not to do for the actual bid presentation in 2012.
BTW, our two competitors for 2014 will be Hainan (China) and Fiji.
(Brouwery) Those 12.5 liters per head for 2 days, that is way too much!
(2014 Reps): No, no. It is 12.5 liters per head for 3 days!
(Brouwery): Ah! That makes sense. You guys drink a lot!
THE OTHER meeting of the year. We had shortlisted this brewery because of its size, products quality and beer range. Dr PP and Higgins met with Mr Talbut - Event Manager - who stressed that the brewery is still family-owned and do focus on customer service. "What we might not get from larger breweries" (read: f**k InBev - right so!).
Very thorough discussion involving 10,000-l tankers and a special beer tasting bar with naked staff. If you believe the latter, you believe everything ;-)
Today saw the first work meeting of the Executive Committee. We focused on promotion material, shared the latest news, discussed beer options, brainstormed for the new motto and had a first look at the draft budget.
We chose to spend the day out so started the meeting onboard the train to Oostende before continuing the proceedings in Café Botteltje.
Several hours and beers later we had achieved much more than expected thanks to a smooth, focused and fun half-day.
100 buses + drivers during summer school holidays? Well, THEY can do it! And to avoid the usual logistical Saturday morning nightmare, EuroBussing will also provide an experienced in-house transport coordinator.
We were also offered the very tempting option of a "welcome hostess" onboard each bus but this is not forecasted in the budget right now ;-)
THE meeting of the year. What is more important than a good venue for a World InterHash? Beer and trails I hear you say - but that is a given, no?.
Tour & Taxis, a 25-hectare site, initially started as the European hub for postal mail (we are talking horses and carriage here) in the 16th century (see!). Fast forward to the early 20th century when the Belgian Customs and Excises moved in, building some serious warehouses..
Three buildings have now been renovated. Entrepôt Royal - listed as national trust - is now hosting office spaces and temporary exhibitions. Another one is long enough for hosting horse jumping shows! The third one - the sheds - is available for private functions. This is where you will be dining, drinking and partying in 2014..
Not only are we getting 50% discount on the rental price (off-season), the site comes with a permanent 2am music licence!! Needless to say we are not expecting many hashers to be left standing at that time after all those unlimited Belgian brews...
Thanks to the lead from BI-TC we managed to directly get in touch with the right person (Brecht) and even met the big boss at national level. They are eager to help us introducing our sponsorship file with Brussels Airlines (newest Star Alliance member) and help whenever they can.
Good genoeg voor ons, zeg maar !
First face-to-face contact today with BI-TC since our feasibility study in August 2006.
Our new named contact is Elisabeth, a young enthusiastic person who th*nk our project is fun. Good to hear: "my job is to help you and that is what I am paid for". Interesting leads for tourism offices and event professionals.
We welcome Harrier International (formerly Asia-Pacific Harrier) magazine onboard. Sealed after many Lao beers in a Belgian (!) pizzeria downtown Vientiane, the deal aims at supporting each other work. I must say that the magazine has become very attractive over the years, not only because of the eye-candy usually found on the front cover but also due to its truly international appeal and bunch of contributors.
The 2010 Q1 edition features a "Hashing in Belgium" section as well as a half-page add for our bid. Try also to find the subtle hint on the front cover :-)
Check it out online at: www.harriermagazine.com and do not forget you can also subscribe for reading the glossy paper version on the road. Bimbo is always looking for additional sponsors to advertise in the magazine so get in touch with him if you are willing to help.
Today the train links Brussels-Cologne and Brussels-Amsterdam are switching to full high speed. So you are even closer to our four major neighbouring cities than before:
* Paris in 1h22
* Cologne in 1h47
* Amsterdam in 1h53
* London in 1h57
That means all European capitals are now within a 2-hour journey from Brussels either by train or plane, besides Helsinki and Athens.
So what is your excuse for staying home ?
We will be shifting gears in the coming months for a higher profile marketing campaign culminating at InterHash 2010. Expect an ad in the next issue of Harrier International magazine (formerly Asia-Pacific Harrier), a promotional stand at registration and 5 minutes on stage before the "serious" 2012 bid presentations on the Friday.
It is coming on very nicely, baaaaaby!
Higgins Powers
From Brussels with laughs
Today, enjoying a beer or 12 without being submitted to passive smoking remains a challenge in Belgium. Very likely not anymore by January 2012 since a piece of law is being voted by the lower house. This would apply to indoor spaces serving food or drinks.
Note that smoking hot harriettes are OK ;-)
Already one year since Brussels 2014 hit the web, thanks to Cyberflasher.
Cheers !
Higgins, bid Chairman
(note by Cyber: Thanks to YOU all! :-) )
100 ambassadors have received their full credentials and are now proudly sporting a royal blue promotional shirt at hash events. The remaining stock of 50 shall be ventilated between now and Kuching 2010. Be aware, be very afraid ;-)
5 minutes, 5 lines, 7 ambassadors on stage.
After the lead balloon last year on stage at Perth IH, we managed this time to get our message accross and understood with great on-the-spot feedback from a laughing audience.
Nothing like having a script (see below) and a bare-to-the-bone sober rehearsal, I would say.
* Welcome to Brussels 2014 !
* Open container is not a policy, it is a way of life
* 1,000+ microbrews !!
* 23,000 hotel rooms, all en-suite
* We speak English as well ;-)
Hasta la proxima!
Higgins, fluent in Gibberish
... have landed in Brussels today. coming soon to a hash event near you (or on you).
51 years ago today, Brussels hosted the world fair on the newly built Heysel area. The centre of the fair had its own main square, impersonating the markt of an old Belgian town with no less than 170 houses and so rightly called Merry Belgium (Vrolijk Belgie / La Belgique Joyeuse). If you think Brussels never organised a major piss up, look at these figures:
* 1 out of every 3 buildings was a bar
* 52,000 beers were poured every day in each bar
* 713,000 people visited the fair each day
* 2,000 kids got lost
-> which only amounts to an average of 4 beers per head per day, not including lost childs. Do not put the blame on me, I was not born yet.
The only landmark remaining from those days is the Atomium, better known in hash terms as Brussels balls. They have been renovated a few years back and are now all shiny. Worth a picture...
www.brussels-expo58.be
On On
Higgins, bid Chairman
Others had PowerPoint slide shows, technical problems and 15-minute talks about great shopping. We had Candyfloss, Baldrick, cue cards, drinking problems and a 1-minute visual presentation.
According to independent reports it seems we had the best RoI ;-)
Higgins, stuck at work for once
On a quiet Friday morning it was a big surprise to find 20 copies of the same postcard sitting in my good old snail mailbox. Seems like the Danes had been drinking enough for th*nking about it seriously, incl. some threat or treat about not waiting until 2014. Little do they know we have reinforced our first line of defence a few months ago by expanding the drinking area of the Delirium Café to almost the entire (dead-end) street. A perfect trap for unsuspecting thirsty hashers...
Did you notice there is just 2,000 days left until InterHash 2014 opens in Brussels ? Only one glitch, we need to win your vote first ;-)
On On
Higgins
Higgins - our "head-huncho" for Interhash 2014 - and your humble webNerd CyberFlasher are having a BELGIAN beer in Brussels! Eagerly waiting for REAL news about the bid for "Brussels Interhash 2014" to flow in...
Just FIVE years and a bit to come....
And counting...
Cyberflasher, WebMaster
Hand-delivered by Automatic Balls during BMPH3 Xmas black tie dinner, plastic stencils and spray paint will allow us to move one step forward on our T-shirt recycling project. We now have the technology for (limited) mass production on top of craftsman technique.
For a sneak preview see the result on Neptunus tuxedo by visiting the "Supporting ads" folder of the "Impressions" picture section.
In exactly 69 months, I hope to declare Interhash 2014 open in the city of Brussels. Proposed dates are 25-27 July 2014 i.e. European summertime. Come back to this page on a regular basis if you want to monitor our progress.
In the mean time, have a beer or twelve for us!
On On
Higgins, bid Chairman
