Gentse Feesten and Open Data

The Gentse Feesten is an annual music and theatre festival taking place in the city of Ghent, Belgium. About 2 million visitors attend the festival every year, making it one of the biggest cultural and popular festivals in Europe. This year, the festival will take place from Friday 14 July to Sunday 23 July, and it will most certainly again draw tourists from all over the world.

But did you know that Open Data has a central role in the information provision to visitors? Every year, applications are built that contain the programme guide of the festival. This application allows visitors to easily spot their favourite artists, and to find their way through the crowd. The application uses several specific open datasets available on the Ghent Open Data portal, such as:

• Events;
• Organisers;
• Locations;
• Festival categories (e.g. comedy, music, etc.).

Data on public toilets will also be added. The code for this application is open source, so anyone is invited to collaborate, especially in providing interface translations. Other applications based on Open Data, such as Vrije Parking, are also useful when visiting the Gentse Feesten. This application provides real-time information on available parking spots in the city.

Are you visiting the Gentse Feesten, or are you just interested in what it is all about? Download the programme guide or visit the festival website!