A showcase for socialism. the ‘Vooruit’ in the display window of the world Only four days before the 1913 Ghent World’s Fair opened to the public, a large-scale general strike for universal suffrage, which was followed up by a march by half a million labour men from the labouring classes, was ended. Ghent’s mayor Emile Braun and the city council had tried everything within their power to prevent the strike, in order not to jeopardize the official opening of the exhibition, but the socialist alderman Edward Anseele eventually followed his party by supporting the potentially revolutionary movement. His fellow party member Emile Coppieters, however, was one of the exhibition presidents and a real driving force behind the massive industrial event. On top of that, the Ghent socialist movement even participated in the World Exhibition: not only was the exhibition stand of the cooperative a prominent component of the Belgian Section, but also the ‘Vooruit’ pavilion in the park offered visitors an opportunity to taste some of the most successful cooperative products. One of the eye-catchers was a remarkable scale model titled ‘Socialist Ghent’, which showed the most important buildings, factories and shops of the powerful socialist cooperative. In the middle of this mini version of the city, the brand new socialist Festivities Hall, designed by Ferdinand Dierkens (1856–1936), towered high above the other buildings. Although at that very moment this monumental building in an impressive eclectic style was still under construction, its scale model was already a shining star in the window of the world. By focussing on the way the Ghent socialists took part in the 1913 World’s Fair, we want to take a look at the ambivalent position of the Ghent social democracy in the urban and political landscape at the verge of World War I. The pragmatic socialism as seen by Edward Anseele, which had grown out of a small political subculture, gradually positioned itself in an international context in which architecture was now used as a ...