Ghent holidays (Gentse Feesten) – annual ten-day cultural festival with a lot of events. It has been held in the Belgian city of Ghent (the capital of the province of East Flanders) for more than 160 years and is considered one of the largest and most interesting in Europe.
The program includes free musical performances, open dance lessons, street theater performances and much more. The action takes place throughout the historical center of the city.
The history of the Ghent holidays began in the 19th century. At that time, each district of Ghent celebrated its holidays on Sundays. These were fun holidays with songs, dances and constant beer. Having had fun to their heart's content, many participants had difficulty getting to work on Monday. The city authorities, faced with this problem, acted wisely: what cannot be prevented – should be led. The city government of Ghent in 1843 decided to combine all the holidays into one general festival, which it was decided to hold once a year.
At first, the aristocracy and people celebrated separately, however, gradually the festival became one big folk holiday.
The First and Second World Wars shook the popularity of the Ghent holidays. But in the late 1960s they revived – largely thanks to hippies. Hippies gathered in St. James Square, played music, sang and had fun. This holiday was a great success. Therefore, 1969 is considered the year of the second birth of the Ghent holidays.
In the 90s of the last century, the Ghent city government decided to pay more attention to the cultural program of the holidays. Holidays became more and more popular and the number of festival events grew.
Today the Ghent Festival – is one of the most beloved festival events in Europe. More than one and a half million people visit it every year.
Heart of the festival – central square of the city – St. James Square. It hosts many free performances: alternative rock bands, ethnic groups perform, music from different nations is played, their cabaret programs are shown, and DJs showcase their talents.
In addition to free concerts, the festival program also includes paid ones: jazz, modern electronic music, street theaters and puppet theaters. The program also includes classical and pop music concerts, costume balls, historical parades and fireworks.