The following is a timeline of the history of Brussels, Belgium, in the 21st century.
2001–2009 2001 Tour & Taxis begins redevelopment. The first Bronze Zinneke is presented to Johan Verminnen. 9 January: The first EXKi fast casual restaurant opens at the Namur Gate. 16 January: Freddy Thielemans is elected mayor for the second time. 26 February: FM Brussel is launched, as the campus radio of RITS. 17 April–8 June: The Butare Four are tried in the city for war crimes during the Rwandan genocide, marking Belgium's first conviction for crimes committed abroad under international law. 28 April: is formed as the sixth police zone in the city. 13 July: The is signed, increasing the representation of Dutch speakers in the Brussels Parliament. 25 October: Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant is born at Erasmus Hospital. 2002 The first is held. 7 May: Ahmed Isnasni and Habiba El-Hajji are shot dead by their neighbour, Hendrik Vyt, at their residence in Schaerbeek. Vyt also wounds two of their sons before committing self-immolation. 1 September: The becomes part of and changes it name to Leonardo da Vinci Royal Athenaeum. 10 December: The Film Museum in integrated into CINEMATEK. 2003 The first is presented to Roger Van de Voorde. 13 March: The Iris Festival is created by ordinance. 6 June: Daniel Ducarme becomes Minister-President. 26 June: Brasserie de la Senne is established; The Institute for the Encouragement of Scientific Research and Innovation of Brussels is established by ordinance. 20 September: The Bibliotheca Wittockiana opens to the public. 2004 The North Galaxy Towers are built. 16 January: Kosovar teacher and independence activist Musa Hoti is assassinated by the UDBA after multiple failed attempts. 18 February: Jacques Simonet becomes Minister-President for the second time. 1 March–17 June: The trial of the Dutroux affair takes place. 14–17 April: The BRussells Tribunal is held as part of the World Tribunal on Iraq. 28 June: The is established by the Dutch and Flemish governments to promote the culture of the Low Countries. 2005 The first Be Film Festival is held. 19 July: The BELvue Museum opens in the Hôtel Belle-Vue; Charles Picqué becomes Minister-President for the second time.
2006 The Atomium is renovated. 6 March: Tram line 24 begins service. 12 April: Joe Van Holsbeeck is fatally stabbed at Brussels-Central railway station in an attempted robbery of his MP3 player. 29 August: Benjamin Rawitz-Castel is murdered during a robbery by Junior Kabunda. 17 September: The Cyclocity bicycle-sharing system is launched in the Pentagon. 23–29 September: Riots break out in the Marolles after Fayçal Chaaban is found dead in his cell. 8 October: Brussels municipal elections are held. 2007 The Hogeschool-Universiteit Brussel (HUB) is established. 25 March: Brussels Airlines is formed. 25 May: The WIELS contemporary art centre opens in the former Wielemans-Ceuppens brewery. 2 July: Tram line 4 begins service. 28 September: The Manga murder occurs. 2008 Denis-Adrien Debouvrie, a wealthy local restaurant owner and creator of Jeanneke Pis, is fatally stabbed by the Tunisian restaurant owner Tarek Ladhari. The first Brussels Gallery Weekend is held. The first Offscreen Film Festival is held. 30 June: Tram lines 3 and 51 commence service. November: The Meyboom is added to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity as part of 'Processional giants and dragons in Belgium and France'. 2009 The Stoclet Palace is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 4 April: Reorganisation of the Metro results in the creation of lines 1, 5, and 6. 16 May: Cyclocity is rebranded to Villo! and expanded to the whole region. 2 June: The Magritte Museum opens. 18 June: The Marc Sleen Museum is opened in the presence of Marc Sleen, as well as King Albert II. 17 November: Olivier Bastin is appointed the first . 12 December: The funeral of Queen Fabiola takes place.
2010–2019 2010 Population of the Brussels-Capital Region: 1,089,538. 18 January: André-Joseph Léonard is appointed Archbishop of Mechelen–Brussels. 24 November: The Cercle de Lorraine is reestablished at the . 26–29 November: The European Assembly for Climate Justice is held. 2011 14 March: Tram line 7 begins operations, replacing the routes previously covered by lines 23 and 24. 5 October: A repeater of the Gdańsk Pulsar Clock is installed in the European Parliament. 2012 13 March: Muslim scholar Abdullah al-Dahdouh is murdered in an unprovoked attack in the Islamic Center of Imam Reza. 10 June: The first occurs. 14 October: Brussels municipal elections are held. 2–4 November: The first is held in the Bourse Palace.
2013 The first is presented to Claude Lammens. 19 February: is formed. 7 May: Rudi Vervoort becomes Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region. 21 July: King Philippe takes the constitutional oath at the Palace of the Nation. 6 December: The Fin-de-Siècle Museum opens. 13 December: Yvan Mayeur is elected mayor. 2014 1 January: is established. 10 March: Vlaams-Brusselse Media forms. 8 May: Tour & Taxis Park opens to the public. 23 May: Choco-Story Brussels is established. 24 May: The Jewish Museum of Belgium shooting occurs, killing 4. 3 June: UP-site is officially opened. 18 June: The .brussels generic top-level domain is added to the DNS root zone. 1 July: The Governor of the Administrative Arrondissement Brussels-Capital is replaced with the Senior Official of the Administrative Arrondissement Brussels-Capital.
2015 9 January: The Brussels-Capital Region adopts a new flag. 25 September: Train World opens in Schaerbeek railway station. 6 November: Jozef De Kesel is appointed Archbishop of Mechelen–Brussels. 21–25 November: The Federal Government imposes a security lockdown, due to information about potential terrorist attacks in the wake of the November 2015 Paris attacks by ISIL on 13 November. 11 December: Art & Design Atomium Museum opens. 13 December: The Brussels S Train begins operating.
2016 8 March: The architectural centre is established. 15–18 March: Police raids are conducted in connection to the attacks in Paris four months earlier. 22 March: The Brussels bombings occur, killing 34 and injuring 230. 4 April: The Schuman-Josaphat tunnel opens. 15 April: The Millennium Iconoclast Museum of Art (MIMA) opens. 5 October: The Brussels stabbing attacks occur, 4 injured including the suspect. 2017 Parts of the Sonian Forest becomes part of the transnational 'Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe' UNESCO World Heritage Site. 8 January: The Village, an open-air food court part of closes to make way for the project. 6 May: The House of European History (HEH) opens. 25 May: NATO's new headquarters open. 31 May: The breaks in the Brussels Parliament. 8 June: Yvan Mayor resigns as mayor following the Samusocial scandal. 14 June: The culture is added to the . 9 June: Philippe Close is appointed mayor by the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region. 20 June: The Brussels-Central bombing occurs, killing the perpetrator. 25 August: The Brussels stabbing attack occurs, killing the perpetrator and injuring 2. 6 October: The Meyboom is added to the Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage. 7 December: 45,000 people gather in the city for Wake Up Europe! in support of Catalan independence.
2018 1 January: The entire Brussels-Capital Region is designated as a low-emission zone (LEZ), except for the Ring and the access roads to park and ride facilities. 10 April: The Royal Theatre Toone is added to the Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage. 5 May: KANAL – Centre Pompidou pre-opens in the former Citroën Garage. 12 May: Manneken Pis receives his 1000th costume, created by fashion designer . 28 May: The giants of Watermael-Boitsfort: Mieke, Janneke and Tichke are added to the Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage. 5 June: Nigerian sex worker Eunice Osayande is fatally stabbed by a client, leading to protests by migrant sex worker communities. 20 June: The reestablished Brussels International Film Festival is held. 2 December: The first School Strike for Climate occurs in the city, drawing 65,000 people to the streets. 30 September: Océade, an waterpark part of Bruparck closes to make way for the . 14 October: Brussels municipal elections are held. 20 November: The Brussels stabbing attack occurs, injuring 2 including the perpetrator. 2019 21 January: The giants of Stockel are added to the Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage. 1–5 May: The city celebrates 150 years of trams and 30 years of the Brussels-Capital Region with a historic tram procession and the European Tramdriver Championship. 26 May: Brussels regional elections are held. 6 July: The 2019 Tour de France starts in the city. 1 August: Saint Verhaegen is added to the Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage. 12 October: The MigratieMuseumMigration opens. 11 December: The Ommegang is added to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. 14 December: opens in the former ASLK/CGER counter room, becoming the city's first food market.
2020–2029 2020 The Iris Tower is built. 2 February: The first recorded case of COVID-19 in Belgium after nine Belgian nationals living in Hubei, China, are repatriated. 11 March: The first COVID-19 related death in Belgium is confirmed of a 90-year-old female patient who was being treated in Etterbeek. 18 March: The city joins the rest of Belgium in a nationwide lockdown that lasts until 8 June in an attempt to reduce the number of cases. 7 June: About 10,000 protesters gather as part of the George Floyd protests in Belgium. 1 October: The Flower Carpet is added to the Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage. 4 December: Speculoos is added to the Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage in response to Lotus Bakeries renaming it "Biscoff" in Belgium.
2021 14 January: following the death of Ibrahima Barrie in police custody. 15 January: The living funfair culture is added to the Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage. 26 February: The Bridge Productions is established as the first professional English theatre company in the city. 15 March: The cultivation and forcing of chicory is added to the Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage. 1 June: The Fanfare des Chasseurs de Prinkères is added to the Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage. 10 October: The protest occurs on the eve of COP26, with police reporting 25,000 participants and organisers claiming 50,000 to 70,000. 15 December: The regional languages of Brussels and the zwanze are added to the Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage. 2022 24 January: More than 50,000 people protest against COVID-19 rules. 28 April: The MigratieMuseumMigration is awarded the European Heritage Label. 20 June: Patrice Lumumba's children receive their father's remains during a ceremony at the Egmont Palace. 10 July: The Uber Files are published, revealing that Uber extensively lobbied regional transport minister Pascal Smet. 30 September: Haren Prison opens. 4 October: The Suzan Daniel Bridge opens over the Brussels–Scheldt Maritime Canal. 10 November: The Brussels stabbing occurs, killing 1 and injuring 2 including the perpetrator. 5 December: The trial of the perpetrators of the 2016 Brussels bombings begins. 9 December: Police raids related to Qatargate are conducted across the city, leading to arrests in Belgium and Italy. 2023 12 January: The Fuse temporarily closes after restricts its operations due to a noise complaint. In direct response, clubbing culture is added to the Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage a few months later. 18 May: The Archives of the International Solvay Conferences on Physics and Chemistry are added to the Memory of the World International Register.