Roger Hay

The First Ostend Raid (part of Operation ZO) was the first of two attacks by the Royal Navy on the German-held port of Ostend during the late spring of 1918 during the First World War. Ostend was attacked in conjunction with the neighbouring harbour of Zeebrugge on 23 April in order to block the vital strategic port of Bruges, situated 6 mi (5.2 nmi; 9.7 km) inland and ideally sited to conduct raiding operations on the British coastline and shipping lanes. Bruges and its satellite ports were a vital part of the German plans in their war on Allied commerce (Handelskrieg) because Bruges was close to the troopship lanes across the English Channel and allowed much quicker access to the Western Approaches for the U-boat fleet than their bases in Germany. The plan of attack was for the British raiding force to sink two obsolete cruisers in the canal mouth at Ostend and three at Zeebrugge, thus preventing raiding ships leaving Bruges. The Ostend canal was the smaller and narrower of the two channels giving access to Bruges and so was considered a secondary target behind the Zeebrugge Raid. Consequently, fewer resources were provided to the force assaulting Ostend. While the attack at Zeebrugge garnered some limited success, the assault on Ostend was a complete failure. The German marines who defended the port had taken careful preparations and drove the British assault ships astray, forcing the abortion of the operation at the final stage. Three weeks after the failure of the operation, a second attack was launched which proved more successful in sinking a blockship at the entrance to the canal but ultimately did not close off Bruges completely. Further plans to attack Ostend came to nothing during the summer of 1918, and the threat from Bruges would not be finally stopped until the last days of the war, when the town was liberated by Allied land forces.

The Mu.ZEE is a museum in Ostend, Belgium, specializing in Belgian art from 1830 onwards. It was created in 2008 by the fusion of the former Provinciaal Museum voor Moderne Kunst (PMMK, the museum for modern art of the Province of West-Flanders) and the Museum voor Schone Kunsten Oostende (Museum of Fine Arts Ostend), both located in Ostend. The museum has two dependencies, the Ensorhuis (house of James Ensor) in Ostend, and the Permekemuseum in Jabbeke. Mu.ZEE is an abbreviation of "Kunstmuseum aan Zee" ("Art Museum at the Sea").

Ostend (Dutch: Oostende, pronounced [ˌoːstˈɛndə] ; French: Ostende [ɔstɑ̃d]; German: Ostende [ɔstˈʔɛndə]; West Flemish: Ostende) is a coastal city and municipality, located in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke, Raversijde, Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the largest on the Belgian coast.

The Arrondissement of Ostend (Dutch: Arrondissement Oostende; French: Arrondissement d'Ostende) is one of the eight administrative arrondissements in the Province of West Flanders, Belgium. The Administrative Arrondissement of Ostend consists of the following municipalities: Bredene De Haan Gistel Ichtegem Middelkerke Ostend Oudenburg

Mercator is a steel-hulled barquentine built in 1932 as a training ship for the Belgian merchant fleet. She was named after Gerardus Mercator (1512–1594), a Belgian cartographer. She was designed by G.L. Watson & Co. and built in Leith, Scotland and launched in 1932. Besides being a training ship, she was also used, mainly before World War II, for scientific observations, or as ambassador for Belgium on world fairs and in sailing events. In 1961, she became a floating museum, first in Antwerp and, from 1964, in the marina of Ostend, just in front of the city hall. As of 2019, she remains open to visitors.

The Japanese Garden of Ostend or Shin Kai Tei is a park in the Belgian city of Ostend. The garden was designed by Japanese architect Takashi Sawano. It is named Shin Kai Tei, which means Deep Sea Garden in Japanese. It was opened in 2001 by Prince Philippe of Belgium.

The 2021 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships were held from 30 to 31 January 2021 in Ostend, Belgium.

The Equestrian Statue of Leopold II (Dutch: Ruiterstandbeeld van Leopold II) is a monument erected in Ostend, Belgium, in memory of King Leopold II, second King of the Belgians. It is located on the Royal Galleries by the beach. The king was commemorated here as a benefactor of Ostend and the Belgian Congo. The inauguration was on 19 July 1931.Partly due to Leopold II's colonial regime, the monument is the subject of ongoing controversy and has been vandalised several times.

The 2001 IAAF World Cross Country Championships took place on March 24/25, 2001. The races were held at the Hippodrome Wellington in Ostend (Oostende), Belgium. Reports of the event were given in The New York Times, in the Herald, and for the IAAF.Complete results for senior men, for senior men's teams, for men's short race, for men's short race teams, for junior men, for junior men's teams, senior women, for senior women's teams, for women's short race, for women's short race teams, for junior women, for junior women's teams, medallists, and the results of British athletes who took part were published.

The Royal Galleries of Ostend (Dutch: Koninklijke Gaanderijen) are a seaside neoclassical arcade on a dike on the beach of Ostend, Belgium. They extend from the royal villa in the east to the Hippodrome Wellington horse racing track in the west. The galleries are over 380 metres (1,250 ft) long, with a large pavilion at each end. The luxury Thermae Palace Hotel sits atop the central section.

The Hippodrome Wellington (also Wellingtonrenbaan) is a horse racing track in Ostend in the Flemish Region of Belgium built in 1883, renovated in 2011 and named after Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. The facility hosts both harness and flat racing events. Starting at the end of June, there's a race day every Monday (until September). Notable among its flat races for Thoroughbred horses was the Grand Prix Prince Rose held annually in July on the Nationale feestdag. Formerly known as the Grand International d'Ostende, it was renamed to honor the great Belgian horse, Prince Rose. The venue hosted concerts by artists like Michael Jackson (1997), David Bowie (2002) and Bon Jovi (2003) and the 2001 IAAF World Cross Country Championships In 2004 the center of the race track was converted into a golf course named Wellington Golf Oostende.. It holds 4 golf holes of the total of 9. The golf course is closed on race days. The Royal Galleries of Ostend were built to link the track to King Leopold II of Belgium's villa, allowing the king and his guests to travel between the two without being inconvenienced by rain or wind. On September 3, 1997 American pop-star Michael Jackson gave here a concert as part of his HIStory World Tour. It was dedicated to Princess Diana, who died 4 days earlier on August 31, 1997. The racecourse and part of the nearby beach have occasionally been used for cyclo-cross races, including the 2021 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships.

Sint-Petrus-en-Pauluskerk (Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul) is a Roman Catholic church in Ostend, Belgium. The neo-Gothic building was constructed on the ashes of a previous church that occupied the site. King Leopold II enthusiastically supported a plan to build a new and more magnificent church. Construction started in 1899 and was completed and consecrated by Bishop Waffelaert on 31 August 1908. Its stained glass windows were destroyed during the two World Wars and were replaced by windows by Michiel Martens. The church is 70 metres (230 ft) long and 30 metres (98 ft) wide. Its spires are 72 metres (236 ft) high. The church was built in the neo-Gothic style according to plans by the architect Louis Delacenserie, who based his design on the Gothic Cologne Cathedral and the neo-Gothic Votivkirche in Vienna.