Music spreads across city squares and along the water

On Saturday, September 16, the city center of Ghent will transform once again into a patchwork of cultural delights. During the day, OdeGand En Route will lead you past artists from all corners of the world through eleven musical routes. At OdeGand Village, between 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., you can enjoy performances and much more, free of charge. In the evening, OdeGand spreads its musical tentacles across the city center, on central squares and along the water. With this, the annual event is taking a new approach after twenty years.

The unofficial opening of the cultural season kicks off once again with a dazzling array of world sounds. At numerous locations in the city center of Ghent, culture lovers can satisfy their musical hunger thanks to a blend of various styles. From blistering sounds from the Balkans, devilish violin music or sultry tango straight from Argentina.

Even more cultural richness makes the city vibrate further at night on dance stages and open-air concerts along Ghent's dreamy waterways. Here too, a multitude of sounds and unique artistic encounters will take you to another world, with both classical, contemporary, and everything in between.

Urban, crooner or waltz?

At night, three international acts are scheduled in adjacent squares. The Korenlei makes way for bigband UB² with their swinging crooner that seems to have been catapulted straight from the 1940s. Together with crooner Yannick Bovy, they reach for a timeless repertoire of Ella Fitzgerald, Glenn Miller and Duke Ellington and many others. Yannick Bovy and UB² have little trouble making the dance floor swing out of control.

Korenlei, 21:30 - 23:00

Sint-Baafsplein is all about the Viennese waltz. The twenty-headed Papageno ensemble will whirl you from one side of the dance floor to the other. Eager to waltz along to the Kaiserwalzer and An der schönen blauen Donau? With classics from Strauss to Léhar and Stolz, interspersed with polkas and marches, standing still is not an option!

Sint-Baafsplein, 22:00 - 23:30

At Vrijdagmarkt, urban and hip-hop rule. Karim Kalonji goes all the way to share his passion for breakdance with you. Using powerful performances and catchy battles, he will awaken the breakdancer in you. So put on your sneakers and dance along.

Vrijdagmarkt, 22:30 - 23:15

The performances in the squares are open to everyone free of charge and, just like during the day, the audience can move from one concert to another to take in everything. Even more, those who do not want to stand still during the concerts are invited to bring out their favorite dance moves in front of the stages.

Music expands further along the water

But not only the squares are on fire; there is even more culture to experience along the water. A series of evening concerts and performances will take place at five hidden locations along Ghent's waterways. The canal cruises start from Korenlei and visitors can enjoy an artistic experience with lots of exciting performances until midnight. The musical boat tours depart at 19:30, 21:15 and 23:00. All departures are sold out, there are no more tickets available.

 

OdeGand takes place on September 16 in Ghent

Tickets for OdeGand En Route during the day are on sale now. Tickets for the evening musical boat ride are sold out.

Music and dancing at Vrijdagmarkt, Korenlei and Sint-Baafsplein are free of charge.