Thousands pack streets for annual Ghent festivities

Ghent's annual 10-day city festival is taking place this week for the 176th time, with a programme of live music, street theatre, circus and more.

In total there are 3,621 activities, 1,866 of them free, organised by 400 different groups. Each day, 130,000 visitors are expected at the free festival, increasing to 200,000 at the weekend. There is a total of 650m of bars, with almost 250 terraces to drink on.

So far there have been no major security issues, though 15 people have been fined for urinating in public – including one man in the entrance to a police station. The Red Cross treated almost 800 people for a variety of complaints in the first five days, slightly higher than last year. A member of the band Tjeeventig was taken to hospital with a heat-related heart problem after performing at Sint Baafsplein.

Photo courtesy Stad Gent