Queen Mathilde Presents the First Prize at the Queen Elisabeth Cello Competition
Photo: The Belgian Royal House
Queen Mathilde attended the final of the 2026 Queen Elisabeth Competition for cello at Bozar in Brussels. The Italian Ettore Pagano took home the first prize.
Queen Mathilde attended the final of the 2026 Queen Elisabeth Competition for cello at the Bozar concert hall in Brussels. The competition ran from 4 to 30 May, and twelve finalists each performed a newly composed work in the final rounds.
The Queen waves to the audience from the royal box at Bozar. Photo: The Belgian Royal Family
The Italian cellist Ettore Pagano took home the first prize, worth 25,000 euros plus a series of concert engagements. Second prize went to Tae-Yeon Kim from South Korea, while Leland Ko from the United States and Canada took third place.
The Queen congratulates the winner, Ettore Pagano. Photo: The Belgian Royal Family
The Queen gathered with all the finalists in front of the statue of Queen Elisabeth. Photo: The Belgian Royal Family
The Queen returned to Brussels the same weekend after a week in the United States, and was thereby able to be present for the conclusion of the competition.