For fans who love a good concert, music festivals can offer a whole new level of fun!
In addition to hosting once-in-a-lifetime shows, music festivals give people the opportunity to come together and experience food and other exhibits.
Some music festivals even allow visitors to enter for free, which often leads to massive attendance.
So, how high can attendance numbers for multi-day music festivals go?
Today we’re going to take part in the 10 biggest music festivals in the world, and find out a little bit about what each one is about.
New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
Big Performer: Katy Perry
Commonly known as the New Orleans Jazz Fest or simply “Jazz Fest,” this fun event is hosted each year to celebrate the culture of New Orleans.
This isn’t your everyday festival, either—common carnival fare is eschewed for authentic Creole cooking, an oyster bar, and cooking stages that offer guests a sampling of celebrity chefs’ masterpieces.
The first year it was hosted, Jazz Fest only saw around 350 attendees.
Location: New Orleans
Location: New Orleans
Big Performer: En Vogue
Dubbed a “party with a purpose,” the 2019 Essence Music Festival will celebrate the 25th anniversary of Essence magazine for women of color.
The Essence music festival serves as a celebration of Black culture and achievement both past and present.
In addition to the music portion of the festival, Essence also offers an array of free workshops, booths and a Museum of Black Beauty.
Place: Pilton
Big Performer: Medicine
This music festival was originally called Glastonbury Fayre, and the first festival only saw around 1,500 attendees.
Glastonbury Festival is usually around five days long and features performances on its iconic “pyramid stage”.
Unfortunately, the pyramid stage burned down in 1994, but because the show had to go on, an artificial stage was built for the festival.
Glastonbury music festival uses an average of 3 million gallons of water each year.
Location: Budapest
Big Performer: Lana Del Rey
The Sziget music festival takes place on the “Old Buda Island” in the Danube River, and includes several stages.
This festival is very popular with tourists because of the nearby wonders of Budapest that visitors can enjoy alongside the event itself.
In addition to scheduled musical performances, Sziget also offers films, exhibitions and theater shows.
The second Sziget music festival was called “Eurowoodstock”, and featured musicians who played at the original Woodstock festival.
Rock in Rio
Location: Rio de Janeiro
Big Performer: Bon Jovi
While Rock in Rio originated in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, it later branched out to other locations, such as Madrid, Lisbon, and Las Vegas.
Rock in Rio takes place over the five days leading up to Lent, and offers people the opportunity to enjoy a lively party atmosphere.
Rock in Rio originally started as a way for young Brazilians to express themselves and speak out against a restrictive dictatorship.
Location: Indio
Big Performer: Madonna
The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival was founded by Paul Tollett and Rick Van Santen as a way to provide attendees with the opportunity to experience art and music like never before.
Coachella has come a long way from its unprofitable first year, Coachella is a hugely profitable event – in just the two weekends it was hosted in 2013, it pulled in an astonishing $67 million.
Part of the reason the 1999 festival lost money instead of making it was that tickets that year were only $50 each!
Location: Kostrzyn nad Odra
Big Performer: Ziggy Marley
Formerly known as Poland’s Woodstock Festival, Pol’and’Rock is one of the largest free music festivals in the world and used to be the largest open-air festival in all of Europe.
These festivals feature fun in the mud and sleeping in tents for fun in the open air as well as great rock music.
The Pol’and’Rock music festival was started by four ambitious young men all in their twenties: John Roberts, Joel Rosenman, Artie Kornfeld, and Mike Lang.
Location: Milwaukee
Big Performer: Jennifer Lopez
Hosted every summer in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, at the Henry Maier Festival Park, or “Summerfest Grounds”, this massive music festival usually lasts 11 days and features hundreds of acts.
Summerfest is coordinated and run by a non-profit board that strives to bring local talent together with renowned musicians.
Because Milwaukee is home to a large number of German-Americans, Summerfest is strongly influenced by Oktoberfest and other vibrant German traditions.
Location: Vienna
Big Performer: Master Blaster
Donauinselfest, which is German for “Danube Island Festival”, is the largest open-air festival in Europe, offering visitors the chance to experience live performances of all kinds of music genres at no initial cost.
Donauinselfest prioritizes local talent to showcase them, only occasionally supplementing them with famous artists.
Heavy rain in the days leading up to Donauinselfesta 2009 almost caused a cancellation due to flooding, but luckily the weather cleared in time.
Attendance Attendance: 2,500,000
Attendance Attendance: 2,500,000
Attendance Attendance: 2,500,000
Attendance Attendance: 2,500,000
Attendance Attendance: 2,500,000
Attendance Attendance: 2,500,000
Attendance Attendance: 2,500,000
Attendance Attendance: 2,500,000
Attendance Attendance: 2,500,000
Attendance Attendance: 2,500,000
Location: Rabat
First Year: 2001
First Year: 2001
First Year: 2001
First Year: 2001
First Year: 2001
First Year: 2001
Big Performer: Ennio Morricone
Mawazine is the world’s largest music festival by total participation.
This Moroccan festival aims to promote a unified, universal love and appreciation of music, as well as promoting Morocco to the world as an open, tolerant and inclusive culture.
Participation is also free, as the festival wants people with low incomes to participate and celebrate.