[2] The first Europeade was held in 1964 at the initiative of Mon de Clopper (1922–1998) from Flanders and Robert Müller-Kox, a German exiled from the Province of Silesia.
This philosophy is practised each year during the five-day festival, when thousands of people from all parts of Europe, dressed in their traditional costumes, meet to sing, to make music, to dance and to celebrate - without formal lecturing.
Large-scale catering is provided, usually a simple breakfast, a packed lunch and a hot evening meal in one central location.
Groups perform in a number of large concerts, in designated street locations, and take part in a massed parade through the town and in a major Saturday evening Europeade Ball.
Outside the actual events many groups will sing, play and dance wherever they happen to find themselves, including the premises where they are lodged.