Traffic disruption is expected in the city centre on Wednesday afternoon, as Brussels university students take over the streets for the annual 'Saint-V' celebrations.
Every year, university students from French-speaking Free University of Brussels (ULB) and its Flemish counterpart (VUB) commemorate their joint founder, Pierre-Théodore Verhaegen, with a procession through the city centre that culminates in a crowd gathering at Grand Sablon.
Brussels Capital/Ixelles police have cautioned car drivers to avoid certain areas in the city centre "as much as possible", as the one day celebration is expected to cause traffic disruption.
Students will begin to gather at Grand Sablon from 12:00, and at 16:30 they will depart on a procession through the city streets: travelling past Rue Lebeau, Place du Jeu de justice, Rue de l'Gasthuis, Place Saint-Jean, Rue Lombard, Rue du Midi, Rue du Steenvenue Anspach, and finishing at Bourse.
The celebration concludes on the steps of the Brussels Bourse, where the crowd will sing the university anthems – 'Lied van Geen Taal' and 'Le Semeur' – at around 17.30.
Police have said that the entire route will be closed off to traffic, and that the event will finish up at Bourse at around 18:30.
The Saint-V march between Sablon and the Bourse in Brussels, in 2018. Credit: Belga/ Hatim Kaghat
The ULB was officially opened on 20 November 1834 by Pierre-Théodore Verhaegen, and from that day onwards, 20 November was declared a day off for students and staff alike. The expression 'Saint-Verhaegen' (Saint-V) first came into use in 1888.
Since then, Saint-V has become a tradition in Brussels: tributes and commemorations are held annually on the various university campuses and student-organised festivities take place in the city centre in the afternoon.
Moreover, in 2019, Saint-V was declared part of the Brussels-Capital Region's intangible cultural heritage. It received this recognition from Brussels because it contributes to the "diverse, autonomous and rebellious character of the city, as well as to its identity," according to ULB's website.
Earlier in the day on Wednesday, the universities laid floral tributes and gave speeches at the graves of Théodore Verhaegen, Frans Kufferath and Henri La Fontaine, as well as stopping at a number of other locations of "historical significance" in Brussels.
