BBC: 1M pedestrians party at banquet held on German Autobahn

The Germans certainly know how to do a block party. According to the BBC, residents between Duisburg and Dortmund have closed 40 miles of the famous Autobahn for one massive street festival. Organizers of the event handed out 20,000 tables in order to help create the longest table in the world as part of the celebration. At some point, the road was even closed to cyclists due to congestion.

Near as we can tell, the whole event was held to celebrate the Ruhr region as part of the area's nomination as the Cultural Capital of Europe, 2010. Residents came out in droves to participate in everything from singing and dancing to street shows to mark the occasion. We're guessing there was plenty of good food on hand, too. Sounds like a pretty good time to us, but we have a hard time believing that anyone on this side of The Pond would be okay with shutting down the 405 for a similar summer shindig. Check out some video footage of the big party on the Trans Europe Express – complete with appropriate Kraftwerk soundtrack – after the jump. Thanks for the tip, Gary!

[Sources: BBC, YouTube]]

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