Book Bart De Wever in eight episodes on ATV (Antwerp)

The Antwerp regional channel ATV will broadcast eight episodes from Sunday Stories from Antwerp. Based on the recent book by Antwerp mayor Bart De Wever, the history of the city is approached thematically.

Two years ago ATV brought with The mayors a historical series on television. Once again, presenter Axl Peleman is taken on a tour of Antwerp history by Mayor Bart De Wever. “For this second series we have loosely based ourselves on the book by Bart De Wever and Johan Vermant, The Story of Antwerp, which appeared in the spring,” says TV maker Walter Schrooten. “We have thematically bundled the most surprising stories from that book into eight episodes. The first episode, which will be broadcast on Sunday, is called ‘White powder’ and focuses on the salt and sugar trade. In other episodes we reflect on business life in Antwerp or the wars that have raged there. But it doesn’t always have to be doom and gloom, there is also an episode about partying.”

The format is an extension of the series about the Antwerp mayors, shot in 2021. “Once again, Bart De Wever and Axl Peleman will walk past places that still have a link with Antwerp history. For a program that is based on the past, it always takes a bit of searching. We rely mainly on the power of the stories and the storytellers. To illustrate this, objects were brought in from Antwerp museums or heritage institutions. We also shoot in or near historical places, such as the Handelsbeurs or – in Sunday’s episode – the Suykerhuis. That building in Raapstraat was converted into a residential complex, but the facade still bears the marking ‘Suykerhuis’. Antwerp used to be the import port for sugar. Sugar arrived in Antwerp as sugar cane, which was processed into sugar in the Suykerhuis confectionery.”

Stories from Antwerp is broadcast eight weeks in a row on ATV. The fifteen-minute episodes are consecutive Woke up on Sunday programmed. The entire series will be repeated during the Christmas holidays.