This year, the Ghent Festivities celebrate their 175th anniversary. This is an exhibition of a rich collection of posters and programmes, photos, film fragments and interviews with personal stories from the past and present.

In 1843, Ghent's industrial bourgeoisie used its influence to unite dozens of district and neighbourhood festivals, forming one single, large Municipal Festival (Gemeentefeest) association. The programme consisted of demonstrations of sport and games, historical tours, markets and fairs.

Now, more than a century later, the Ghent Festivities have grown into one of the biggest and most popular urban festivals in Europe.

This exhibition looks back at the most important milestones and shows the evolution and dynamism of the city, the festivities and festivalgoers.

The information continues beneath the illustrations.