On Saturday, September 26, Franklin Graham led the Prayer March 2020 from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. Eastern starting at the Lincoln Memorial. How many people attended the nearly two-mile march in Washington, D.C.? Estimates ranged from tens of thousands to 50,000. Here’s a look at crowd size photos and videos from the event.
Tens of Thousands Attended the Prayer March, with Some Estimates as High as 50,000
About 55,000 people said they planned to attend the march, WUSA 9 reported. Here’s a video from the event, showing the crowd where Michael W. Smith led a song. Sean Feucht, a musician who attended the event, said in his post that there were more than 50,000 in attendance.
The Florida Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission estimated the crowd at 50,000:
Today’s #PrayerMarch2020 draws 50,000 plus to the #WashingtonDC National Mall ..thank you #FranklinGraham
Here’s another video showing the crowd:
The march started at the Lincoln Memorial, proceeded around the Washington Monument, and ended at the U.S. Capitol, according to the Prayer March website’s map. The webpage describes the march as a prayerful event and not a political event designed to support any particular party:
The Washington Prayer March 2020 event is a dedicated prayer march that is focused solely on asking God to heal our land. It is not a protest or political event, and we are asking participants to not bring signs in support of any candidate or party.”
The march was about 1.8 miles long.
The march’s website notes: “Participants are expected to follow applicable health and safety protocols, including the use of social distancing and a face mask, while in public and to monitor government orders that may impact travel. Anyone with symptoms consistent with COVID-19 should refrain from participating in person.”
Photos and videos from the march indicate that quite a few people were not wearing masks and no one was social distancing, despite the advocation to do so on the website.
Jerry Prevo of Liberty University shared this video showing buses filled with people attending the event:
These buses are filled with Christians committed to prayer and to God’s best for this nation. They’re college students today – and the leaders of tomorrow. They’re Champions for Christ. #PrayerMarch2020 @LibertyU
This photo shows the crowd filling the National Mall:
You can see the crowd at the National Mall in this photo too, shared by Phil Bryant on Twitter.
Enjoying the @Franklin_Graham #PrayerMarch2020 for our nation. Only God can heal our land. 🙏🏼🇺🇸
Here’s a photo of the crowd less than an hour before it started.
Less than an hour before #PrayerMarch2020 begins.
Thousands are ready to call out to God.
Follow along: t.co/hmZa6Fw8pA
Vice President Mike Pence attended the event.
.@SecondLady and I were truly honored to join @Franklin_Graham and thousands of Believers for the #PrayerMarch2020 in Washington DC today. Thank you for your prayers, America. 🇺🇸
The National Park Service no longer provides official crowd estimates of events that take place. They stopped releasing estimates ever since a dispute about how many attended a Million Man March in 1995. The Park Service was threatened with a lawsuit when they estimated 400,000 showed up to the Million Man March, while organizers believed that one million were there. After that, they stopped publicly releasing estimates.
In the video below, you can see people marching along the National Mall. The U.S. Capitol was the final destination.
Singing hymns and praises to the Lord as they peacefully march along the National Mall during today’s Prayer March. Watch live at t.co/7K4vqWXCXE.
The Event Took Place Before Trump’s Supreme Court Announcement
People in other states also participated in the Prayer March from afar and shared photos on Twitter. The photo below is from Ohio.
The event took place before President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court announcement. He is expected to announce his pick at 5 p.m. Eastern on Saturday, September 26. Many have already said that he’s likely to announce Amy Coney Barrett as his Supreme Court nominee. Trump is then hosting a rally in Middletown, Pennsylvania at 7 p.m. Eastern.
READ NEXT: The latest COVID-19 deaths, cases, and updates