While the main celebrations of the 50^th anniversary were held mainly on Wenceslas Square in Prague and then by a number of universities across the country, Czech citizens living in Belgium remembered Jan Palach together with high-ranking officials at the monument of Jan Palach in Woluwe-Saint-Pierre.

At the beginning of the ceremony the Mayor of Woluwe-Saint-Pierre Benoît Cerexhe welcomed the guests. In his speech he recalled the heroic act of a young Czech student, which had impact not only within the then Czechoslovak society but resonated strongly also abroad. Afterwards, the Ambassador of the Czech Republic in Brussels Pavel Klucký payed homage not only to Jan Palach, but also to all women and men fighting for human rights and freedom. Finally, Pascal Lefèvre, Councillor for European Relations and Human Rights, highlighted mainly the paradox that it was the enormous desire for life which led the 20 years old student to sacrifice his own life to his ideals and the great desire to live in freedom and a democratic society.

After the speeches, the flowers and wreaths were laid to the monument of Jan Palach, created by the academic sculptor František Janda. The event was attended by the Czech Republic's Permanent Representative to the EU, Ambassador Jakub Dürr, Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to NATO, Ambassador Jiří Šedivý, Secretary General of the European Committee of the Regions, Jiří Buriánek, Representative of compatriot organization Beseda Olga Schmalzried and Director of the Czech School without Borders Dagmar Straková together with teachers and pupils of the school and a number of Czech compatriots and Belgian citizens. (205 Czech citizens living in the Woluwe-Saint-Pierre district, received personal invitation from the mayor).

At the end of the event the European, Czech and Belgian anthems were sung, and nearly one hundred participants held a minute's silence in honour of actions of Jan Palach.