Two million join car-less German autobahn fair

Around two million people descended on a long swath of Germany's fabled autobahn yesterday after it was closed to cars and trucks to make way for a giant street festival, organisers said.

Cleared of traffic jams and engine exhaust for 31 hours, the 60-kilometre stretch of one of Europe's busiest motorways, between the western cities of Dortmund and Duisburg, became a stream of pedestrians and cyclists.

Thanks in part to warm sunny weather, the turnout was double what was expected as visitors passed by 20,000 picnic tables lined up end-to-end in what organisers dubbed a movable feast of "everyday life and culture".

"The motto of the Still-Life event is 'The table is your stage'," event spokesman Katharina Jarzombek said.

"Anybody can showcase their band, their hobby, their club or their group of friends."

A police spokesman declined to provide an official estimate of the turnout.

Among the participants from the US, Japan and across Europe was a club of Star Wars fans putting on a tribute to the science fiction blockbusters and a brass combo called Tuba Libre. The event was a highlight in the Ruhr 2010 European Capital of Culture festivities, which has seen Germany's rust belt region transformed into a hotbed of the arts with hundreds of concerts, plays and exhibitions planned throughout the year.