Ongoing History Daily: What is the biggest music festival in the world?
Music festivals are regularly held all over the planet. But which one attracts the most people? Don’t say Glastonbury. Forget Coachella or Bonnaroo. And there’s nothing in South America or Japan you can mention.
The answer is Donauinselfest, a free event that takes place every summer. This is the Danube Island Festival, which takes place on an island in the middle of the river in Vienna. The island is 21 kilometres long and 250 metres wide and was created as a flood regulation measure.
The festival is held each year in late June and typically features music on 16 stages over three days. About 600 hours of music are performed for a total audience that reaches—wait for it—2.5 million people over those three days. No other annual music festival anywhere on the planet comes close.
