# What's the largest event you ever attended?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-event-you-ever-attended/48209
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [January 3, 2001, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-event-you-ever-attended/48209 "2001-01-03T06:30:55Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)
#### Post date: [January 3, 2001, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-event-you-ever-attended/48209/1 "2001-01-03T06:30:55Z")
I’ve just seen a ad on TV for a programme about the [Kumbh Mela](http://www.smsu.edu/relst/kumbhmela.html) a Hindu festival in India where they’re expecting **20 MILLION** people.
The largest ever gathering of people I’ve ever been to is ~1million in the [Phoenix Park](http://lala.essortment.com/phoenixparkdub_rwaj.htm) in 1979(I was 8 and remember it very well) when the Pope came to Ireland and said mass there. This was over a 1/4 of the population of the country at the time.
What’s yours ?
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### Author:  [@blur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blur)
#### Post date: [January 3, 2001, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-event-you-ever-attended/48209/2 "2001-01-03T06:40:22Z")
I’ve been to Times Square for new years before, and thats usually in the hundreds of thousands, but the most I’ve been in the middle of was about 70,000 at a concert last summer. I now realize what is meant my a sea of humanity. It was actaully kinda scarey to be surrounded by that many people.
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### Author:  [@evilbeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilbeth)
#### Post date: [January 3, 2001, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-event-you-ever-attended/48209/3 "2001-01-03T06:46:07Z")
I think it was probably Lollapalooza a few years back. It was miserable. (I don’t get out much!)
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### Author:  [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)
#### Post date: [January 3, 2001, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-event-you-ever-attended/48209/4 "2001-01-03T06:59:22Z")
From what I know about Lollapalooza it seems very cool, with people like Homer catching cannon balls with his stomach and all 😉
The 2nd biggest for me was a Queen Concert in Slane Castle in '86. About 80k there. I hate big concerts and have sworn never to attend another [sub]unless [Kylie Minogue](http://www.celebritiessupermodels.com/images/kylie/km23.jpg) does a naked tour and even then I’ll be wearing ear plugs[/sub] 😉
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### Author:  [@evilbeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilbeth)
#### Post date: [January 3, 2001, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-event-you-ever-attended/48209/5 "2001-01-03T07:13:15Z")
The time that I was at Lollapalooza sucked. I hate crowds and besides that, during the two days I was there, I was spit on, sweated on, bled on, pissed on, shit on and vomited on. I don’t think I’ll do that again.
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### Author:  [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)
#### Post date: [January 3, 2001, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-event-you-ever-attended/48209/6 "2001-01-03T07:18:04Z")
Wow it sounds just like the Pope’s gig. 😃
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### Author:  [@evilbeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilbeth)
#### Post date: [January 3, 2001, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-event-you-ever-attended/48209/7 "2001-01-03T07:23:41Z")
There were more funny hats at Lollapalooza!
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### Author:  [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)
#### Post date: [January 3, 2001, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-event-you-ever-attended/48209/8 "2001-01-03T07:37:44Z")
Washington DC 4th of July Mall celebration in 1985. The Beach Boys were playing and there was an estimated 750,000 people there. Of course I couldn’t even **see** the band…
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### Author:  [@Tzel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tzel)
#### Post date: [January 3, 2001, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-event-you-ever-attended/48209/9 "2001-01-03T07:53:41Z")
Last New Years Eve at the Phish festival in the Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation in the Florida Everglades. At least 85,000 people.
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### Author:  [@mdf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mdf)
#### Post date: [January 3, 2001, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-event-you-ever-attended/48209/10 "2001-01-03T08:05:14Z")
Long Beach Grand Prix, 1979 or '80. Came down from Tacoma where I was stationed with a buddy who lived in the LA area. Lots of people, couldn’t put a number to them but they were thick all around the course. Have avoided multi-tens-of-thousands events since then.
-mdf
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### Author:  [@occ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/occ)
#### Post date: [January 3, 2001, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-event-you-ever-attended/48209/11 "2001-01-03T08:09:21Z")
Just remember what William Poundstone said about crowd estimates: you can trust 'em about as far as you can throw 'em.
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### Author:  [@choosybeggar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choosybeggar)
#### Post date: [January 3, 2001, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-event-you-ever-attended/48209/12 "2001-01-03T08:34:57Z")
Paul Simon, Central Park, 1992(1?)
Crowd estimate:6.48 X 10[sup]12[/sup]
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### Author:  [@AKAmame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AKAmame)
#### Post date: [January 3, 2001, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-event-you-ever-attended/48209/13 "2001-01-03T09:22:14Z")
Reconciliation walk across the Sydney Harbour Bridge, last year. Most estimates were about 500,000 people walked as a peaceful demonstration in support of a reconciliation (to say ‘sorry’ if you will ('cos the PM John Howard won’t)) with the Aboriginal peoples of Australia.
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### Author:  [@curwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curwin)
#### Post date: [January 3, 2001, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-event-you-ever-attended/48209/14 "2001-01-03T09:41:51Z")
By far the largest event I ever attended was the 50th anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. If I remember correctly, there were something like 800,000 people there - more than the population of San Francisco itself.
The crowd entirely filled up the bridge from one side to another. There was simply no room to move at all. I remember in the beginning someone said something like “lean to the left” - and the _entire bridge_ leaned to the left. Pretty scary.
There were pictures afterwards of how the bridge actually flattened out - I wonder if there are any of those pics on the web?
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### Author:  [@CanadianSue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanadianSue)
#### Post date: [January 3, 2001, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-event-you-ever-attended/48209/15 "2001-01-03T13:35:49Z")
Stones concert a few years back, there were about 60,000 or so there.
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### Author:  [@Felinecare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Felinecare)
#### Post date: [January 3, 2001, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-event-you-ever-attended/48209/16 "2001-01-03T13:46:54Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by occ \*
> \*\*Just remember what William Poundstone said about crowd estimates: you can trust 'em about as far as you can throw 'em. \*\*
Especially for gatherings with a political agenda. So I couldn’t tell you how many people were on the Mall supporting abortion rights, but hundreds of thousands wouldn’t surprise me. National Park Service vs. NOW figures ranged from 250,000-500,000.
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### Author:  [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)
#### Post date: [January 3, 2001, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-event-you-ever-attended/48209/17 "2001-01-03T13:49:47Z")
[ParkPop 1992](http://www.parkpop.nl/2000/cgi-bin/webjan.cgi/geschiedenis/jaar/1992.htm), a large pop festival in The Hague.
That year, the crowd was estimated at a record 500,000. That’s 1/30th of the population of the Netherlands, at the time.
Then again, with a country as large as a top 5 US city, I could also claim I’m continuously attending an event with 16 million visitors 😃
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### Author:  [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)
#### Post date: [January 3, 2001, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-event-you-ever-attended/48209/18 "2001-01-03T13:51:34Z")
Also, I can’t **believe** that’s NINE years ago already.
**The Breeders** played _Cannonball_, and I fell in love with the song immediately.
I’m getting old, eh?
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### Author:  [@Odieman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odieman)
#### Post date: [January 3, 2001, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-event-you-ever-attended/48209/19 "2001-01-03T13:51:38Z")
I was in Ottawa for the Canada Day fireworks about 15 years ago. There was well over 150,000 people there. The lawn of the parliament buildings and all the empty space in down town Ottawa was covered in people. We didn’t even bother bringing a car, we just walked back the 10 kms to the place we were staying at.
Keith
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### Author:  [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)
#### Post date: [January 3, 2001, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-event-you-ever-attended/48209/20 "2001-01-03T14:22:05Z")
[Watkins Glen](http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Speedway/2668/sjnoframe.html) rock conert in July 1973.
Held in upstate New York, almost four years after Woodstock, it attracted all those, who like me, missed the big one but weren’t gonna miss out again. The crowd was estimated at 600,000 to 750,000.
The absolute pits. One portable toilet per 50,000 or so. Lousy sound system. Not the Band, or the Allman brothers, or even the Dead could save that day. In the vernacular of the day, ‘a bummer’. And today, an unpleasant memory.
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