Mass gatherings are events attended by a sufficient number of people to strain the planning and response resources of the host community, state/province, nation, or region where it is being held. Definitions of a mass gathering generally include the following: Planned (long term or spontaneously planned) event “a specified number of persons (at least >1000 persons). at a specific location, for a specific purpose (e.g. social function, public event, sporting event) for a defined period of time”. Requires Multi-Agency Coordination Mass gatherings are usually sporting events (such as Olympic Games) or religious pilgrimages (such as Kumbh Mela or Arba'een Pilgrimage). They are highly visible Managing health risks during mass gatherings retrieved 25 Jan 2023 and in some cases, millions of people attend them.
Statistics
Here is some Statistics about the latest mass gatherings in the world:
2022:
July: Hajj in Mecca: 1 million Hajj Information retrieved 30 Jan 2023
September: Arba'een Pilgrimage in Karbala: 21 million 21 million Shiites mark Arbaeen in Iraq's Karbala retrieved 30 Jan 2023
2020-2021:
No more mass gathering due to COVID-19
2020:
January: Qasem Soleimani's funeral in Tehran: 7 million Kerman pays homage to Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani retrieved 6 Feb 2023
2019:
January: Kumbh Mela in Allahabad: 14 million 1.4 crore people take dip as Kumbh Mela begins retrieved 30 Jan 2023
February: Kumbh Mela in Allahabad: 50 million Mauni Amavasya: Sangam turns into biggest confluence of human faith as 5 cr devotees take dip retrieved 30 Jan 2023
August: Hajj in Mecca: 2.5 million Photos: One million Muslims start Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca retrieved 30 Jan 2023
October: Arba'een Pilgrimage in Karbala: 18 million https://en.irna.ir/news/83522737/Arbaeen-pilgrims-count-hits-18-million Arbaeen pilgrims count hits 18 million]
Mass Gathering Medicine is a new field of medicine that focuses on the health risks of mass gatherings. The World Health Organization through its "Department of Global Alert and Response" supports Member States hosting mass gatherings and regularly receives a large number of requests for technical support by countries organizing large mass gatherings.
See also Flash mob List of largest peaceful gatherings Mass movement Protests
References