Headliner crowd sizes over the years

[Crazyfool01]

Following discussion in headliner thread who have had the biggest / smallest attendances over the years … and what actual numbers would you put on the likes of Coldplay last year , Elton and the stones … or were the crowds bigger pre superfence 

[Crazyfool01]

ill start .... Coldplay last year 100k ..... higher or lower ? 

[incident]

Elton had the biggest. Don't think that's in doubt - not least because both the festival and the field itself were substantially larger than they had been previously, and yet the field was still filled. Wouldn't like to guess a number but easily well north of 100k, maybe even as much as 150k given how reportedly quiet most of the rest of the site was.

 

SZA had the smallest ever. Again, don't think that's in doubt. Crowd (when I saw it, last few songs of the set) was easily less than 10% of the size of Eltons, and that might be being generous. It's quite possible it was well under 10k at that point - the "crowd" went from the stage to about halfway up the sound desks, and barely beyond - then you had maybe a few hundred people dotted around the rest of the field (mostly horizontal) with a dozen or so of those in Row Mead. Genuinely feel like just how empty it was can't be adequately described. Wish I'd taken some photos but it felt kinda wrong to do so.

 

Saw both first hand.

[Avalon_Fields]

AI tells me: The Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury Festival has a capacity of around 120,000 people.

 

I'm guessing that's for normal headliners, not the expanded area for the likes of Elton, so may well be 150,000.

[incident]

Should say, when I say "ever" - what I really mean is "modernish era" so say 94 onwards. Would be unfair to start banging on about someone who played when there was only 6,000 people on site to start with.

[Skip997]

Levellers 1994 is often said to be the largest Pyramid crowd at 300,000.

 

However, this is much more likely to be the overall festival attendance and everyone wasn’t at the Pyramid that night 

[Crazyfool01]

11 minutes ago, incident said:

Elton had the biggest. Don't think that's in doubt - not least because both the festival and the field itself were substantially larger than they had been previously, and yet the field was still filled. Wouldn't like to guess a number but easily well north of 100k, maybe even as much as 150k given how reportedly quiet most of the rest of the site was.

 

SZA had the smallest ever. Again, don't think that's in doubt. Crowd (when I saw it, last few songs of the set) was easily less than 10% of the size of Eltons, and that might be being generous. It's quite possible it was well under 10k at that point - the "crowd" went from the stage to about halfway up the sound desks, and barely beyond - then you had maybe a few hundred people dotted around the rest of the field (mostly horizontal) with a dozen or so of those in Row Mead. Genuinely feel like just how empty it was can't be adequately described. Wish I'd taken some photos but it felt kinda wrong to do so.

 

Saw both first hand.

field got extended for the Stones initially didn't it , although in the extra bit at the back it didn't seemed rammed , that said i was  sat on the floor and wasn't able to stand for the set so might be wrong 

[Crazyfool01]

Just now, Skip997 said:

Levellers 1994 is often said to be the largest Pyramid crowd at 300,000.

 

However, this is much more likely to be the overall festival attendance and everyone wasn’t at the Pyramid that night 

site was however a lot smaller then wasn't it .... so those numbers would have been condensed over a few stages 

[Crazyfool01]

SZA ...10 -20k ? 

[Justcalledtosay]

Macca had a very substantial crowd but i've not seen bigger than Elton.

[Skip997]

Just now, Justcalledtosay said:

Macca had a very substantial crowd but i've not seen bigger than Elton.

I was no where near Elton, but judging by the lack of people elsewhere, seems likely it was the biggest ever.

 

Just goes to show…..

[incident]

4 minutes ago, Crazyfool01 said:

SZA ...10 -20k ? 

 

I think you're being exceptionally generous there (albeit as I said I only saw the last 3-4 songs, it may have been much busier earlier on). My guess at the time was about 10k, and with reflection I think I was probably a little on the high side.

[giantkatestacks]

14 minutes ago, Skip997 said:

Levellers 1994 is often said to be the largest Pyramid crowd at 300,000.

 

However, this is much more likely to be the overall festival attendance and everyone wasn’t at the Pyramid that night 

Yeah tho I don't remember it being as rammed as all that - there was certainly still space in the field for candles.

[Avalon_Fields]

20 minutes ago, incident said:

 

I think you're being exceptionally generous there (albeit as I said I only saw the last 3-4 songs, it may have been much busier earlier on). My guess at the time was about 10k, and with reflection I think I was probably a little on the high side.

Wow, was it really that bad? I was nowhere near it so I've no idea (I presume the BBC coverage hid the extent of the crowd?)

[stuie]

26 minutes ago, Crazyfool01 said:

SZA ...10 -20k ? 

 

I wasn't there, I'd just finished working Gate C funnelling people who were leaving the festival early and run to a packed West Holts but found this.   Didn't realise it was 'that' bad tbh.

 

 

[incident]

4 minutes ago, stuie said:

I wasn't there, I'd just finished working Gate C funnelling people who were leaving the festival early and run to a packed West Holts but found this.   Didn't realise it was 'that' bad tbh.

 

 

Yeah. And substantially fewer than that at the end.

[Superscally]

Urg. If she was fully aware, or is now, I feel really bad for her.

[stuie]

10 minutes ago, Superscally said:

Urg. If she was fully aware, or is now, I feel really bad for her.

 

I just noticed the litter highlighting how full the field was earlier that day. 

[Crazyfool01]

15 minutes ago, Superscally said:

Urg. If she was fully aware, or is now, I feel really bad for her.

shed see that from the stage im sure ..... 

[Little Thief]

Not a headliner, but Janelle Monae had the smallest crowd I think I’ve ever seen on the Pyramid. Walked past on my way from Woodsies to WH and it was eerie! The whole of Sunday was a bit dead to be fair.

[doogie]

I was at Bowie in 2000, the year when there were so many gatecrashers they had to build the superfence to keep the licence.

 

It felt busy, but looking at the TV footage, the field doesn't look that rammed and there are lots of people happily sitting round flares not that far from the stage.

 

I'm thinking these anecdotal reports of 200,000+ or even 300,000 at Levellers in 1994 may be severely exaggerated.

[mufcok]

Elton biggest I've seen but it was easy to see that due to being so far back + the subsequent TV footage with the drones.

 

I was front pit for McCartney and between the sound desk and pit for the Stones - suspect they weren't far off. I did jump on a mates shoulders briefly just before the Stones to look back and it was quite the sight - no grass to be seen.

Edited November 6 by mufcok

[Yokel Again]

6 minutes ago, doogie said:

I was at Bowie in 2000, the year when there were so many gatecrashers they had to build the superfence to keep the licence.

 

It felt busy, but looking at the TV footage, the field doesn't look that rammed and there are lots of people happily sitting round flares not that far from the stage.

 

I'm thinking these anecdotal reports of 200,000+ or even 300,000 at Levellers in 1994 may be severely exaggerated.

 Yep, Bowie nowhere near as busy as history says, so believe the same for the Levellers (but wasn't there). My perception is always the site felt rammed from 2007 onwards (compared to 2000-05, couldn't comment on before). BUT, since around 2013 the pyramid gets massive crowds compared to the other stages for headliners. Obvious exceptions noted.

[matrainertje]

28 minutes ago, Little Thief said:

Not a headliner, but Janelle Monae had the smallest crowd I think I’ve ever seen on the Pyramid. Walked past on my way from Woodsies to WH and it was eerie! The whole of Sunday was a bit dead to be fair.

That's a bit sad actually, I was not at the festival but Janelle is in my top list of the best performer's I've ever seen at a festival, ever. 

[4AssedMonkey]

26 minutes ago, matrainertje said:

That's a bit sad actually, I was not at the festival but Janelle is in my top list of the best performer's I've ever seen at a festival, ever. 

 

I was really surprised by that and TBF, think I picked the wrong stage, we were at Avalon for Baby Queen.  Baby Queen was good, but Janelle looked awesome on the TV.

 

Elton by a mile the biggest crowd I've ever seen there.  Not a headliner but Dolly Parton actually not far behind.