Dear friends, dear comrades,
What a pleasure to meet again at this magnificent edition of ManiFiesta. The weather is superb, as is everyone around us. There are more than 15.000 people here today. I'd like to start by thanking all the volunteers who make this festival possible.
Unforgettable. ManiFiesta Belgium, the Solidarity Festival, reinvented itself and delighted more than 15,000 visitors over a weekend of madness. "Together we can make waves", as they say. And it was indeed a tidal wave of solidarity that washed over Ostend.
Speech by Peter Mertens, Secretary General of the PTB-PVDA, at the Cumbre de los Pueblos (peoples' summit), at the European Parliament, Brussels, July 18, 2023