More photos of the crowd from the
Huffington Post.
This one would be from just to the right of the stage (looking out) and clearly shows the incredible density of the crowd.
Must have been on a media crane...
It's also looking like the 215,000 estimate was low as regards total people who came in for the rally. It's becoming evident that many many many people who came in for the rally could not actually get to the Mall (evidenced by reports of streets jammed with pedestrians for blocks and blocks around the Mall) and by Metro's ridership estimates (as reported in the
Washington Post )
Quote: Metro sets a record. Thanks to the Rally to Restore Sanity/Keep Fear Alive event -- Metro set a ridership record on Saturday with more than 850,000 people using the transit system. (On a regular Saturday, ridership around 320,000.) But the day was not without problems. Four people were injured when an escalator malfunctioned at the L'Enfant Plaza station and there were complaints about jammed packed cars and stations.
And these numbers are likely low since there are new reports that are saying that metro workers opened the turnstiles at many stations to speed the crowds entrance and exit.
Mike
p.s. one person made the following analysis on a WaPo coments page...
Quote: Let the numbers speak for themselves.
According to Metro, there were 825,437 on Stewart/Colbert day and 510,020 on Beck day. Average Saturday ridership is about 350,000 (both events were on Saturday).
Even if you exclude the average daily riders, and assume two trips per person (one there, one back), that yields 80,010 for Beck and 237,718 for Stewart/Colbert.
This method corresponds to APL’s analysis of 87,000 for Beck and 215,000 for Stewart/Colbert. Thus, at a minimum, it seems fair to conclude from the data that Stewart/Colbert drew three times as many as Beck.
Metro - Rail - Disruption Reports - Daily Service Information Beck's Rally
Metro - About Metro - News - Metro sets new record for highest Saturday Metrorail ridership Colbert/Stewart Rally