For decades, the (Belgische Radio- en Televisieomroep) held a monopoly on Dutch-language broadcasting, modeled after the "Reithian" ethos of the BBC: to inform, educate, and entertain. However, the 1989 launch of commercial rival VTM shattered this dominance.
: Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" reached number one on the Belgian charts in late 1991. The band performed a famous, high-energy concert at Vooruit in Ghent on November 23, 1991, which became a legendary moment in Belgian music history. For decades, the (Belgische Radio- en Televisieomroep) held
The May 1991 issue featured a cover that is now a collector’s item: a black-and-white photo of two teenagers’ hands—one male, one female—hovering over an open box of condoms, with the single word: (Yes). The band performed a famous, high-energy concert at
In 1991, Belgian (specifically Flemish) entertainment and media content experienced a watershed moment with the broadcast of (Anything Can Make a Person Happy) on the public broadcaster BRT (now VRT). This 50-minute special, aired on November 28, 1991, was a voorlichtingsprogramma (educational guidance program) about sexuality, contraception, and AIDS. It broke taboos by featuring explicit, medically accurate demonstrations of condom use, masturbation, and sexual response. The program became a cultural landmark, sparking national debate, political outrage, and record-breaking viewership. It represents the high point of public-service “voorlichting” merging with entertainment formats to address the AIDS crisis. This 50-minute special, aired on November 28, 1991,
“Parents were petrified,” recalls Dr. Liesbet Van Hecke, a media historian at KU Leuven. “They knew their teenagers were sexually active—the pill had been available for decades—but they couldn’t bring themselves to say the words ‘condom’ at the dinner table. So, they outsourced the job to the television.”
The magazine sold out in four days. A second print run of 300,000 copies was ordered—more than the circulation of many adult newspapers.
Voorlichting 1991 had a significant impact on the Belgian media industry, as it helped to establish a framework for the regulation of entertainment and media content. The guidelines provided by Voorlichting 1991: