A well-known Belgian musician and singer Arno died on Saturday, Filip De Groote, his agent, made an announcement on Saturday afternoon.
According to the sources, he has been suffering from pancreatic cancer since 2019. In a month, he would have become 73 years old.
Moreover, Arno Hintjens, who was born in Ostend and has lived in Brussels since the 1980s, was a frequent visitor to the area near Place Sainte-Catherine.
Along with this, he had been declared an honorary citizen of the capital, as well as one of the first individuals to respond to his passing publicly was Brussels Mayor Philippe Close.
Arno, citoyen d’honneur de la @VilleBruxelles s’en est allé. Nous ne verrons plus sa silhouette dans le quartier Sainte-Catherine. Putain putain, il nous manque déjà…
— Philippe Close (@PhilippeClose) April 23, 2022
“Arno, an honorary citizen of the City of Brussels, has gone. We will not see his silhouette in the Sainte-Catherine district anymore. F*ck, f*ck, we miss him already (‘Putain putain, il nous manque déjà …’),” Close mentioned in the statement, referring to the title of one of Arno’s most well-known songs.
We verliezen in @StadaanZee een grote menère. Danke Arno, de Oostendenaars zullen je nooit vergeten. #riparno #ostendebonsoir
— Bart Tommelein (@Barttommelein) April 23, 2022
Ostend mayor Bart Tommelein highlighted on Twitter, “We have lost a great man in Ostend. Thank you, Arno. The people of Ostend will never forget you.”
In addition, as word of his death spread, a number of political figures paid tribute to the Belgian great.
Prime Minister named, Alexander De Croo mentioned on Social Media, “Rest in peace, Arno. It was wonderful! (‘C’était Magnifique).” He referred to another one of the singer’s hits.
On the other hand, Di Rupo stated, “Arno was one of the greatest Belgian artists. His special style reflected an exceptional talent and unfailing determination to assert his status as a Belgian of the North, the South and the Centre.”
