The Gentse Feesten reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Jul-2004
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Gentse Feesten

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The Gentse Feesten is a festival with lots of music and theatre in the city of Ghent (Belgium). It is the the largest of its kind in Europe. It starts on the Saturday before July 21 (the Belgian National Holiday) and it lasts ten days. The last day (always a Monday) is known as De dag van de lege portemonnees (The day of the empty purses) making allusion to the fact that many people have spent their money during the festival. About 1 million people visit Ghent during these ten days, which is twice as much as the carnival festival of Rio de Janeiro.

http://www.gentsefeesten.be/