Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Conversation
The Conversation
Milad Haghani, Associate Professor and Principal Fellow in Urban Risk and Resilience, The University of Melbourne

How do scientists estimate crowd sizes at public events – and why are they often disputed?

Last Sunday, tens of thousands marched across the Sydney Harbour Bridge in support of Gaza. But exactly how many people were there depends on whom you ask.

Police put it at about 90,000. Organisers claimed up to 300,000. Other reports and expert estimates landed somewhere in-between.

Why are these accounts so different and how hard is it, really, to estimate the size of a crowd?

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.