“Merci Arno”, Ostend mourns honorary citizen Arno
Arno grew into a living legend and was an icon in ‘his’ Ostend. Several generations in Ostend and far beyond grew up with his music. Arno spoke many languages, but the only language he really mastered was, in his own words, ‘Ostends’. The Ostend dialect also appears regularly in his music, from a bawdy verse in ‘Putain Putain’ (1983) to ‘A Bouquet Met Pisseblommen’ (2006). In ‘Oostende Bonsoir’ (2019), Arno sings about his hometown. Ostend mourns, but is especially grateful for everything Arno meant to Ostend. There will therefore be an online mourning register and a physical copy will be published in the Grote Post from Sunday 24 April, at 12 noon. In the coming days, Arno’s most famous hits will be heard at the mural on the town hall.
Ostend loses “a big man”
Ostend mayor Bart Tommelein also responds to Arno’s death: “Ostend lost its greatest ambassador today. We are losing a great man in @StadaanZee. Thank you Arno, the people of Ostend will never forget you,” said Tommelein on Twitter. “Our city does not have many honorary citizens, but Arno had been our honorary citizen for about twenty years. He was a monument of our city. I am glad that he said goodbye in such a beautiful way, with his last concert in the Kursaal. At the film festival, he also received a Lifetime Achievement Award as a sign of recognition,” said the mayor.