# What was the most watched live event ever? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 6, 2014, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-watched-live-event-ever/692499 "2014-07-06T21:48:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-watched-live-event-ever/692499/41 "2014-07-08T21:45:40Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > One more nitpick: if you don’t require that they _survived_ seeing the event there are probably dozens to hundreds of catastrophes to be considered where those who saw it happen didn’t live to describe it to others. The WWII Japan bombs as an example. > > Not trying to be picky for its own sake. Honest. And the cloud rose to 60,000 feet. Thats almost 12 miles hign. Loads of people saw it who didn’t die. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-watched-live-event-ever/692499/42 "2014-07-09T17:33:54Z")
Obviously nobody saw all of it live, but all of the 6.5 million people who participated in [Hands Across America](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hands_Across_America) saw part of it. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-watched-live-event-ever/692499/43 "2014-07-09T20:28:53Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I think the OP was looking for the largest number of people actually at the event, not watching on TV. And there’s a [Wikipedia list](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_peaceful_gatherings_in_history) of the largest peaceful gatherings. Some of these events, mostly religious gatherings, have many millions of people. However, those viewers are spread out over the (approximately) 200km route of the race. To me that doesn’t qualify as viewers in one place. Recently one of the space shuttles rode piggy back on a 747 to its retirement home and literally millions of Americans could see it in the sky. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-watched-live-event-ever/692499/44 "2014-07-09T20:38:22Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > Well, you used the words “actually there watching a live one-day sporting event” - which seems reasonably clear. True, but his specific question was: “Could this be a record for a live event, sporting or otherwise?” ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-watched-live-event-ever/692499/45 "2014-07-09T20:48:48Z")
> [@Lukeinva](#): > > However, those viewers are spread out over the (approximately) 200km route of the race. To me that doesn’t qualify as viewers in one place. > > Recently one of the space shuttles rode piggy back on a 747 to its retirement home and literally millions of Americans could see it in the sky. If you want to disqualify the Tour de France because they spectators are spread over the route of the race, how can you then suggest the millions of spectators seeing the space shuttle over _its_ route? ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-watched-live-event-ever/692499/46 "2014-07-09T21:24:36Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > If you want to disqualify the Tour de France because they spectators are spread over the route of the race, how can you then suggest the millions of spectators seeing the space shuttle over _its_ route? Well, I wasn’t. Neither count (imo). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-watched-live-event-ever/692499.md?page=2)