The pieces are coming together for Europe’s fifth Legoland theme park, which is to be built in Belgium.
Four parks already stand in Denmark, Germany, Italy and the UK.
On Tuesday (30 August), Merlin Entertainments Group signed a letter of intent with the Belgian authorities for the plans to construct the new park, expected to be Legoland’s seventh one worldwide.
The company plans to build the theme park on a disused industrial site in Gosselies, near Charleroi Airport, which is about an hour’s train journey south of Brussels.
The site was used for the building of heavy construction machinery by the global firm Caterpillar.
A 70-hectare park is expected to open in 2027 and will be bigger than the 61-hectare resort in Windsor, just outside London, if the plan encounters no blocks.
In Charleroi, a further 20 hectares are being set aside for any future extensions or developments.
The newest park would be within easy reach for Lego fans in the UK, thanks to a direct Eurostar service from London to Brussels.
There are also direct flights from UK airports – such as Edinburgh, Liverpool, and Manchester – to Charleroi Airport, but flights from London only go to Brussels Airport.
The project is expected to cost about €400m and is likely to have an on-site hotel.
It’s believed that the new site could be the missing piece for Lego fans living in France, Belgium and the Netherlands.
John Jakobsen, Merlin’s chief operating officer for Legoland Resorts Group, described the new park as “another exciting ‘building block’ laid for bringing a potential Legoland Resort to the many Lego fans across Wallonia, Benelux and Northern France.”
Willy Borsus, Walloon minister of the economy, said that its hoped that the new park would create about 1,000 new jobs in the region and “rehabilitate our industrial wastelands.”
Legoland Billund, in Denmark, was the first to open in 1968. Legoland Windsor followed in 1996, Legoland Günzburg in Germany in 2002, and Legoland Water Park in Gardaland, Italy, in 2021.
In the US, Legoland Florida has been open since 2011 and another park opened last year in New York.
