Two-thirds of Ghent festivalgoers hand back free cash in social experiment

Concertgoers at the Ghent Festivities have been put to the test in a social experiment to find out how selfless and generous they are.

The event's organisers blasted €1,000 in €5 notes into the crowd, with the promise that any money returned would be doubled and donated to charity.

Organiser Xavier Cloet had the idea from his son’s creche. "They put a sweet in front of him," he said in an interview, "and they said that if he left it, he would get a big bag of sweets later.

"He couldn't wait and ate it. I wanted to know how adults would react in a similar scenario."

The €5 notes were blown into the crowd at the Ghent Festivities on two different nights.

On both evenings, about €650 of the €1,000 total was returned, according to the organisers.

This means that about a third of the event's visitors chose to keep the money for themselves.

"That's a respectable result," Cloet added.