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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 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.

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 siege of Ostend was a three-year siege of the city of Ostend during the Eighty Years' War and the Anglo–Spanish War. A Spanish force under Archduke Albrecht besieged the fortress being held initially by a Dutch force which was reinforced by English troops under Francis Vere, who became the town's governor. It was said "the Spanish assailed the unassailable; the Dutch defended the indefensible." The commitment of both sides in the dispute over the only Dutch-ruled area in the province of Flanders, made the campaign continue for more than any other during the war. This resulted in one of the longest and bloodiest sieges in world history: more than 100,000 people were killed, wounded, or succumbed to disease during the siege.Ostend was resupplied via the sea and as a result held out for three years. A garrison did a tour of duty before being replaced by fresh troops, normally 3,000 at a time keeping casualties and disease to a minimum. The siege consisted of a number of assaults by the Spanish, including a massive unsuccessful assault by 10,000 Spanish infantry in January 1602 when governed by Vere. After suffering heavy losses, the Spanish replaced the Archduke with Ambrosio Spinola and the siege settled down to one of attrition with the strong points gradually being taken one at a time.Ostend was eventually captured by the Spanish on 20 September 1604 but the city was completely destroyed and the overall strategy had changed since the siege had started. The loss of Ostend was a severe blow strategically for the Republic but Spanish propaganda and strategic objectives were frustrated by the Dutch and English conquest of Sluis to the northeast a few weeks before the surrender of Ostend. In addition, the economic cost of such a long campaign and the enormous number of casualties sustained turned the result into a Spanish pyrrhic victory and effectively the siege contributed largely to Spanish bankruptcy three years later which was followed by the Twelve Years' Truce.

SM UC-70 was a German Type UC II minelaying submarine or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy (German: Kaiserliche Marine) during World War I. The U-boat was ordered on 12 January 1916 and was launched on 7 August 1916. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 20 November 1916 as SM UC-70. In ten patrols UC-70 was credited with sinking 33 ships, either by torpedo or by mines laid. On 28 August 1918, UC-70 was spotted lying submerged on the sea bottom and attacked by a Blackburn Kangaroo patrol aircraft of No. 246 Squadron RAF and then was then sunk by depth charges from the British destroyer HMS Ouse. The wreck is a Protected Wreck managed by Historic England.

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.

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.

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.

Oostende railway station (Dutch: Station Oostende, French: Gare d'Ostende) is a railway station in Ostend, West Flanders, Belgium. It is operated by the National Railway Company of Belgium (NMBS/SNCB).

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

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.