So I knew what to expect when we went for the weekend to Nieuwpoort Bad. Yet, when old grumpy here looked out from our balcony overlooking the end of de dijk and saw another temporary stage being thrown up, I moaned "not more din".

That evening we had an enjoyable seafront meal at Twins, while in front of us on de dijk young hopefuls draped with Miss Coast Belgium sashes posed beside a stable of Porsches. As we strolled back, we were greeted by strains of"Ohlaatdezoninjehart- Oh let the sun in your heart", a standard of Flemish crooner Willy Sommers.

There was no Willy, but instead a thousand-odd singers under our balcony. The event was organised by Vlaanderen zingt - Flanders sings. It started in the 1990s in a café in Antwerp, where een zangavond - song evening - was held every other month. It has grown into an openlucht meezingfeest - open-air sing- along, which this year is touring 38 locations in Flanders.

Back on our balcony, we soon defined love as being like the moon hitting your eye like a bigga pizza pie and became chickens along with Urbanus: "Gans mijn lijf staat vol met pluimen - All my body is covered in feathers."

A quick glance revealed that we were not alone in letting loose: every balcony was crowded with meezingers. A neighbour came out of her shell as she sang along with Ann Christy's "Gelukkig zijn - Being happy". Some balconied ladies were so carried away that they were belting out each number into hairbrushes. Samantha's Eviva Espana had everyone swinging to "Ik hou van dansen en muziek - I love dancing and music" as a Spanish flag and vuvuzela appeared on one balcony.

The crowd below were also being swept along by the music, so when Eddy Wally declared that "Ik spring uit een vliegmachien alleen om jou te zien - I'd jump from a flying machine just to see you", a thousand singers jumped with him. They then declared that you'll never walk alone, visited Les Lacs du Connemara with Michel Sardou and ended with Thank you for the Music. It all wrapped up in the dark, 37 songs later. So many had raised their voices in song, perhaps for the first time in ages.

Go to www.vlaanderenzingt.be to find out where the fun is until the end of September.