EXHIBITIONS
The Geuzenbal, submitted by the Oudstudentenbond VUB (OSB, the university's alumni association)
The first Geuzenbal was organised in 1956 during the festive week on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Brussels Studentengenootschap Geen Taal Geen Vrijhied (BSG gtgv - “Brussels Student Association No Language No Freedom”). In the same week, the Oudstudentenbond VUB (OSB – the university’s alumni association) saw the light of day. In 1961 the OSB got involved in the organisation of the annual ball and from 1968 onwards OSB organised it by itself. Despite financial ups and downs, the ball was organised annually until 2001. At that time, gala ball events (temporarily) went out of fashion, and the Geuzenbal was making a loss.
Five years later, in 2006, BSG and OSB organised another ball together, on the occasion of both their birthdays, under the name “Jubileumbal 150 jaar Vlaamse studenten in Brussel” (“Jubilee Ball 150 years of Flemish students in Brussels”). From then on, the alumni association has organised the highly successful “Galabal Vrije Universiteit Brussel every other year”. More than 800 people attended the last edition in 2017, and the ball in 2019, which will mark the 50th anniversary of the alumni association as an independent association, promises to be even bigger.
The VUB alumni association sees the strengthening of ties between VUB alumni as its most important task. The (biannual) gala ball, which is exactly the same age as the OSB, is still the largest activity organised for this purpose. It gives former students the opportunity to catch up and to fraternize with the current generation of students.