Abstract: This article reveals the substantial presence of all kinds of foreigners among the audiences in Belgian café-concerts and their position in ambitious urban and national politics in fin-desiècle Belgian cities. Although ignored by academics for decades, Belgian fin-de-siècle caféconcerts and their hedonistic atmosphere were highly influential, and even imitated, abroad. By combining quantitative and qualitative data from a wide range of research fields, it is possible to comprehend the café-concert and its audiences as transgressive identities, challenging concepts of social space, as well as nationalities, class and gender. By recognizing foreigners’ unique position in modern Belgian cities and also the café-concert as their favoured place for social encounters, new light is shed on the international community, urban economy, nationhood and modern identities.