# What was the largest gathering of people ever? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 20, 2012, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-gathering-of-people-ever/613464 "2012-02-20T22:35:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2012, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-gathering-of-people-ever/613464/1 "2012-02-20T22:35:16Z")
I was wondering when it would have been possible to look out over the largest group of humanity ever assembled. A big sporting event can have 100k+ people in one place. There have been some very large gatherings in Washington, DC. But what is the largest gathering of people anywhere at anytime? For the purposes of this thread, the gathering must be in one location in a contiguous grouping. So it doesn’t count to say there are X millions of people who live in New York City. But if everyone in NYC went to Central Park, then it would count. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2012, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-gathering-of-people-ever/613464/2 "2012-02-20T22:39:43Z")
Battle of Kursk count? [Battle of Kursk - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kursk) Even if you consider both armies to be a separate grouping, that’s two very big groupings. 800K on one side and 1.9M on the other. Perhaps in modern warfare, groups are too dispersed to count as being in one place. If that’s so, then I would look at battles in-between the 18th and 20th century. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2012, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-gathering-of-people-ever/613464/3 "2012-02-20T22:46:44Z")
Mecca gets very busy during the Hajj - 1.8 million foreign visitors last year according to this: > **[Hajj](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hajj)** > > Hajj (/hɑːdʒ/; Arabic: حَجّ Ḥajj; sometimes also spelled Hadj, or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by all adult Muslims who are physically and financially capable of undertaking the journey, and of supporting their family during their absence from home. > In Islamic terminology, Hajj is a pilgrimage made to the Kaaba, the "... ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2012, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-gathering-of-people-ever/613464/4 "2012-02-20T22:57:32Z")
Here’s wikipedia’s [list of the largest](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_gatherings_in_history)peaceful gatherings in history. While Arba’een is the winner there (annually surpassing 10 million), I think there are bigger crowds at some of the [Kumbh Mela](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumbh_Mela)festivals. C.N. Annadurai deserves a mention for attracting 15 million to his funeral! ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2012, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-gathering-of-people-ever/613464/5 "2012-02-21T03:04:48Z")
Some of the Nazi Nuremberg rallies had [over half a million people](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuremberg_Rally) in attendance. Not the largest crowd ever, I’m sure, but up there. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2012, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-gathering-of-people-ever/613464/6 "2012-02-21T03:29:16Z")
> [@](#): > > For the purposes of this thread, the gathering must be in one location in a contiguous grouping. So it doesn’t count to say there are X millions of people who live in New York City. But if everyone in NYC went to Central Park, then it would count. That just pushes the question back. How are you defining “location” or “contiguous”? ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2012, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-gathering-of-people-ever/613464/7 "2012-02-21T03:33:57Z")
> [@lisiate](#): > > Here’s wikipedia’s [list of the largest](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_gatherings_in_history)peaceful gatherings in history. While Arba’een is the winner there (annually surpassing 10 million), I think there are bigger crowds at some of the [Kumbh Mela](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumbh_Mela)festivals. > > C.N. Annadurai deserves a mention for attracting 15 million to his funeral! I think the obvious question here is, ‘where does the poop go?’ ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2012, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-gathering-of-people-ever/613464/8 "2012-02-21T03:58:38Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > Some of the Nazi Nuremberg rallies had [over half a million people](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuremberg_Rally) in attendance. Not the largest crowd ever, I’m sure, but up there. So did Simon & Garfunkel’s Concert in Central Park. New York sees larger crowds all the time. Heck, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade gets 3.5 million annually and first passed the million mark in 1933. Some of the ticker tape parades (Apollo 11, e.g.) claim even larger audiences, but nobody has hard numbers. S&G only rank 8th on a list of [largest rock concerts](http://www.noiseaddicts.com/2009/08/concerts-with-record-attendance/), with Rod Stewart in Copacabana Beach (New Year’s Eve 1994) and Jean Michel Jarre in Moscow tied for first at 3.5 million. (He’s an electric violinist in jazz fusion and excellent: I’d rather see him than Rod Stewart.) Some Googling brings up another dozen claims of million+ concerts. The Million Man March was probably no more than half that size or even less, but Barack Obama’s inaugural seems pretty solidly over a million, with estimates of 1.1-1.8 million. Some previous inaugurations probably hit the million mark as well. The Stewart concert probably fits best to a definition of smallest square footage for a large crowd among the ones I listed. I have very large doubts about the biggest numbers on that Wiki page, and the Stewart number is exaggerated at 4.2 million there. Must have been some light show, though. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2012, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-gathering-of-people-ever/613464/9 "2012-02-21T04:09:51Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > He’s an electric violinist in jazz fusion I’ve heard Jean-Michel Jarre called a lot of things before, but never that. While there are certainly jazz influences in his compositions, he’s primarily known as a pioneering electronica composer and performer who specialises in keyboard synth. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2012, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-gathering-of-people-ever/613464/10 "2012-02-21T04:11:17Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > That just pushes the question back. How are you defining “location” or “contiguous”? I was thinking that they would need to be in close enough proximity to get the sense of what millions of people look like. A huge sea of people. People as far as the eye can see in all directions. Millions of people are going to be spread out over a great distance, but they should be close enough to each other that they look like they are still connected. When I’m in a stadium with 100k people, it gives me pause to think of the other 99,999 people all with their own lives. And that’s rather small for large gatherings. What must it be like to see gatherings 10x or 100x as big. The logistics of handling that many people in one place must be astounding. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2012, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-gathering-of-people-ever/613464/11 "2012-02-21T04:31:15Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > I’ve heard Jean-Michel Jarre called a lot of things before, but never that. While there are certainly jazz influences in his compositions, he’s primarily known as a pioneering electronica composer and performer who specialises in keyboard synth. D’oh. I was confusing him with Jean-Luc Ponty. I do own Jarre albums, too. I’d still rather see him than Stewart. Sorry Jean! ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2012, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-gathering-of-people-ever/613464/12 "2012-02-21T04:51:20Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > I think the obvious question here is, ‘where does the poop go?’ > [@filmore](#): > > The logistics of handling that many people in one place must be astounding. That’s what I said. ---
**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-gathering-of-people-ever/613464/13 "2012-02-22T07:10:02Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > D’oh. I was confusing him with Jean-Luc Ponty. I do own Jarre albums, too. I’d still rather see him than Stewart. > > Sorry Jean! Pet peeve: his name is Jean-Michel. Not Jean. _Never_ Jean. Jean is someone else and he’s not a talented electronic music composer who specializes in very large outdoor concerts. And, yes, I do have a name like Jean-Michel. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-gathering-of-people-ever/613464/14 "2012-02-22T07:51:17Z")
this might be more fun with pictures - [shot of the mecca crowd](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_F2aVRfr4Y0Q/TGwYzacFhyI/AAAAAAAAA1A/1aIQWAdNha0/s1600/mecca-hajj.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Panurge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/fbc32d/32.png) [@Panurge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Panurge)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-gathering-of-people-ever/613464/15 "2012-02-22T08:19:12Z")
I think the [Kumbh Mela](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumbh_Mela)s mentioned above are the correct answer. From the link: “On April 14, 2010, alone approximately 10 million people bathed in the Ganges river”. That was from a “regular” Kumbh Mela in Haridwar. The figures at the 2001 Maha Kumbh Mela in Allahabad might have been even bigger. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-gathering-of-people-ever/613464/16 "2012-02-22T11:28:19Z")
> [@shijinn](#): > > this might be more fun with pictures - [shot of the mecca crowd](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_F2aVRfr4Y0Q/TGwYzacFhyI/AAAAAAAAA1A/1aIQWAdNha0/s1600/mecca-hajj.jpg). [All right, I _am_ the Messiah. Now \*\*\*\* off.](http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Music/Pix/pictures/2011/6/28/1309273342632/Graham-Chapman-in-Monty-P-008.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-gathering-of-people-ever/613464/17 "2012-02-22T16:57:51Z")
> [@jovan](#): > > Pet peeve: his name is Jean-Michel. Not Jean. _Never_ Jean. Jean is someone else and he’s not a talented electronic music composer who specializes in very large outdoor concerts. > > And, yes, I do have a name like Jean-Michel. Thank you. If you have to explain a joke… sigh They both are Jeans, so the apology was to both using the common part of the name. I know that’s not the proper use. That’s why it was supposed to be obviously a joke. ---
**Author:** ![Jesus\_the\_Wizard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/67e7ee/32.png) [@Jesus\_the\_Wizard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jesus_the_Wizard)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-gathering-of-people-ever/613464/18 "2013-01-10T01:50:16Z")
Kumbh Mela is the answer: The festival is billed as the biggest religious gathering in the world. In 2001, more than 40 million people gathered on the main bathing day at Allahabad, breaking a world record for the biggest human gathering. According to the Mela Administration’s estimates, around 70 million people participated in the 45-day Ardh Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, in 2007. The previous Kumbh Mela, held in 2001 in Haridwar, was, before it occurred, estimated by the authorities to attract between 30 and 70 million people. In 2001, around 1 million people from outside of India and from around the world participated in the Maha Kumbh Mela at Allahabad, with a total participation of approximately 60 million. > **[Kumbh Mela](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumbh_Mela)** > > Kumbh Mela or Kumbha Mela (/ˌkʊmb ˈmeɪlə/) is a major pilgrimage and festival in Hinduism. It is celebrated in a cycle of approximately 12 years, to celebrate every revolution Brihaspati (Jupiter) completes, at four river-bank pilgrimage sites: Prayagraj (Ganges-Yamuna-Sarasvati rivers confluence), Haridwar (Ganges), Nashik (Godavari), and Ujjain (Shipra). The festival is marked by a ritual dip in the waters, but it is also a celebration of community commerce with numerous fairs, educati The f... You’re welcome!!! :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)🙂 ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-gathering-of-people-ever/613464/19 "2013-01-10T02:06:18Z")
Please don’t shout. It’s rude. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-gathering-of-people-ever/613464/20 "2013-01-10T05:02:46Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > If you have to explain a joke… sigh > > They both are Jeans, so the apology was to both using the common part of the name. I know that’s not the proper use. That’s why it was supposed to be obviously a joke. To those of us with names like Jean-Michel it’s a nails on a blackboard kind of joke, as so much of our time ends up being spent explaining that our name Is Not Jean Damnit (or, in my case, María) and requesting that it be corrected, sometimes in official documents such as entry visas, work contracts or school diplomas. You’d think after eight years at a school they’d know what a student’s name is! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-gathering-of-people-ever/613464.md?page=2)