The bank holidays drew 210,000 visitors to the Ghent Festivities on Friday, bringing the total number of visitors to almost 1.3 million – with 17% of these having come from abroad.
After eight days, the Ghent Festivities’ visitor counter stands at 1,295,000 visitors. Data from telecom operators shows that 17% came from abroad, with the highest number of foreign visitors having travelled from the Netherlands. French, German, British and Spanish tourists complete the top five.
The Ghent Festivities have so far been generally calm, although there were scuffles and violence against police on Thursday.
According to police spokesperson Matto Langeraert, spirits were calmer on Friday with the Ghent police reporting 11 brawls. Also, 65 revellers were given a GAS fine for urinating in public and 2 vehicles were towed away.
The Red Cross took care of 158 visitors in first aid posts on Friday. The ambulance was called 15 times, with 43 people reporting to the emergency services. 2 people had to be hospitalised.
Lost property reported 103 lost items on Friday. On that front, it is a record edition, says Langeraert. “In total, we now have 568 cases that were brought in and our services are still listing items.”
Lost property can be collected from the police station in Belfortstraat.
