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🇧🇪 Belgium /Culture & Society

Ghent Scraps Vlasmarkt Closure Measure After Incidents at Entrances

From VRT NWS · () Dutch

Translated from Dutch, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Outcome reported
  • A measure to close the Vlasmarkt square in Ghent, Belgium, when 4,000 people were present has been scrapped.
  • The closure caused crowds to shift to entrances and exits, leading to incidents.
  • Police and organizers decided to remove the measure to ease pressure, returning to previous years' safety protocols.

The Vlasmarkt square in Ghent, Belgium, will no longer be closed off when it reaches its maximum capacity of 4,000 visitors during the Gentse Feesten. This temporary measure, implemented to observe crowd flow and outflow dynamics, proved counterproductive. Instead of dispersing the crowd, the closure pushed the congestion to the square's entrances and exits, resulting in several incidents. "Together with the police, we decided last night to reopen the square to take the pressure off," said Matthias Dermout, atmosphere manager at Vlasmarkt. "The crowds shifted from the square to the entrances and exits, where some incidents occurred. That is atypical for the Vlasmarkt. There was even still space on the square itself at that moment."

Together with the police, we decided last night to reopen the square to take the pressure off. The crowds shifted from the square to the entrances and exits, where some incidents occurred. That is atypical for the Vlasmarkt. There was even still space on the square itself at that moment.

— Matthias DermoutAtmosphere manager at Vlasmarkt explaining the decision to scrap the square's closure measure.

Police intervened when the situation threatened to escalate. "When we saw that there was impatience and misunderstanding, we went to the scene and first tried to mediate and sort things out," explained Matto Langeraert, spokesperson for Ghent police. The decision to scrap the closure was made jointly by the police and the square's organizer to de-escalate the situation and prevent further issues. The Vlasmarkt will revert to the safety measures used in previous years for the remainder of the Gentse Feesten. However, adjustments are being made across the entire festival zone, including allowing squares to remain open an hour longer to better distribute visitor numbers throughout the event. "The safety of visitors and staff is a priority," Langeraert added. A thorough evaluation will take place after the festival to identify improvements for next year.

When we saw that there was impatience and misunderstanding, we went to the scene and first tried to mediate and sort things out.

— Matto LangeraertSpokesperson for Ghent police on the intervention during the incidents at the square's entrances and exits.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by VRT NWS in Dutch. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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