BELGIUM – GHENT- July 19 to 28, 2008

With 10 free music stages, four international festivals and dozens of stage productions, the Ghent Festivities are the biggest city festival in our country. For 10 days, an estimated 1.5 million visitors will sample the city and everything it has to offer. Between July 19 to 28, 2008 more than 250 organisers will be presenting close to 900 events, involving more than 3,000 activities! Despite their immense scale, the Ghent Festivities are still, more than anything else, a place of discovery and experimentation, and a fine endorsement of the great character that typifies Ghent. The Ghent Festivities are a popular cultural festival. A festival on a huge scale, with a strong and varied programme, exuberant yet discerning, created for - and often by - the general public, with Ghent as the backdrop. Four international festivals adorn the Ghent Festivities programme. The “Ghent Jazz Festival”, the “MiramirO” the “International Puppet Buskers Festival” and the “10 Days Off” dance festival are the showpieces of the Ghent Festivities. Extremely varied cultural highpoints that make the Festivities much mo re than just an ordinary city festival…. The 7th edition of the Ghent Jazz Festival, formerly the Blue Note Records Festival, is due to start nine days before the Ghent Festivities at the Bijlokesite (July 10 to 20).