The organisers of the original Woodstock festival in 1969 famously expected a turnout of around 50 000. Yet a grand total of about 400 000 rolled in.
From an coordination and planning standpoint, chaos reigned: traffic, blocked streets, musicians flown in (by necessity) in helicopters and persistent rain continuously thwarted efforts to make things run smoothly.
And while the organisers suffered losses worth 1,3 million US dollars, the festival nevertheless represents the epitome of America’s Hippy movement.
Robert Hall, a retired International School teacher and Luxembourgish resident for over 30 years, is himself musically and artistically active.
He was 20 years of age when he went to the iconic music festival back in 1969, and talks about how he managed, unlike some, to surpass the miles of traffic until they made it to the stage.
According to Hall, none of the attendees had expected this level of turnout either, and whether you were dancing, taking your clothes off or getting high, the incredible amount of people was always apparent.
Although it was tiring, it was an amazing experience, and Hall counts himself lucky to have been part of it. He had, however, since been to many festivals and concerts where mud or stones were not your only seating options.
