30CC

30CC/Schouwburg is Leuven’s 600-seat main theatre, with six additional wheelchair places. Its defining feature is an 1867 municipal theatre building whose present-day concert room combines a floor-level arena with three balconies. For a music night, this is a seated, stage-facing room built for concentrated listening, with the foyer also used for social events and daytime dance sessions.

A stage remade after the fire

The Leuven Stadsschouwburg was designed by city architect Edouard-Philippe Lavergne and entered use in 1867. Its first performance came on September 3, 1867: Charles Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, presented at the opening of the new theatre.

War created the building’s defining rupture. German troops set a fire on August 25, 1914, leaving the exterior walls and the walls around the auditorium standing while the timber-heavy roof, stage machinery, stairs, floors and structural elements burned. During the war, theatre specialist Alban Chambon received the rebuilding and modernization commission; construction work ran from 1921 to 1931.

In 2017, 30CC marked the Schouwburg’s 150th year with a birthday weekend and an exhibition made with Leuven’s heritage service. That exhibition still occupies the grand staircase, turning the walk toward the foyer into a compact history display before a show.

The room now

30CC programs performing arts across four halls and presents classical music, jazz, concerts, theatre, circus and family work, with local artists alongside international acts. The Schouwburg also takes rental applications for concerts and performances, including guest events organized by Leuven associations. Inside, the arena-and-three-balcony plan gives audiences a clear stage relationship across the room; Visit Leuven specifically highlights sightlines from every seated area. The foyer carries its own programming, including DJ-led dance afternoons.