Les 24 heures vélo de Louvain-la-Neuve (English: the 24 hour bike ride of Louvain-la-Neuve) is a Belgian festival organized by students from the Université Catholique de Louvain held every year during October in Louvain-la-Neuve. The main event is a 24 hour bicycle relay race spanning the whole city, surrounded by the crowd during various music concerts and parties.
It is said that the event gathers more than fifty thousand people and that it is the second largest "beer event" in Europe after the Oktoberfest. Approximately, 2000 students are involved in the organisation of Les 24 heures vélo de Louvain-la-Neuve.
In 2006, the 30th edition of the event took place from the 25th to 26 October.
The 2008 event passed without major incident, with between 45,000 and 50,000 people attending.[1]
The 2009 edition, taking place from 21st to 22nd October,[2] was attended by more than 40,000 people.[3] One particularly serious accident left a young man at risk of paralysis after a fall.[4]