On Wednesday, around 5,000 students took part in the traditional Saint-Nicolas celebration. The theme this year was super-heroes. “We thought the cold would put a lot of people off, but it didn’t. There were no incidents”, said Pierre Lepers, President of the Student General Assembly. The procession, made up of six floats, set off around 2pm from the Place Saint-Aubain.
Among the super-heroes parading in the streets of Namur were students dressed as Batman, Superman, the Joker, the Hulk and Catwoman.
From 11am, several volunteer students put barrels, pumps, sound systems, and decorations on the floats to welcome Saint-Nicolas. “During the parade, the students drank 90 barrels. That’s 18,000 beers, so three of four beers per person. That’s quite reasonable”, says Pierre Lepers. He said there were a few “cuts and bruises” as someone was taken away in an ambulance after tripping up, but there were no major incidents or alcoholic comas.
Six stewards and two organizers from the Student General Assembly (AGE) escorted each float. There was also a group of students assigned to security. “They were stationed near dangerous areas, such as scaffolding, building sites, narrow roundabouts, etc”, added Pierre Lepers.
The student’s Saint-Nicolas celebration will continue on Wednesday evening at the Courthouse bunker, which will open at 8.30pm.
(Source: Belga)
