Around two million people were estimated to have shown up to a stretch of the A40 autobahn in the Ruhr area on Sunday for the ‘Still Life’ festival which promised to replace speeding cars with a huge range of cultural events.

The project - part of the Ruhr 2010 European capital of culture season – involved completely closing the 60-kilometre stretch of the motorway between Duisburgand Dortmund, filling it with up to 20,000 tables for people to sit, eat and experience an enormous range of performances. 

Things on offer range from literature readings, local poetry performances and rappers to the Eppendorfer cultural heritage group’s display of 1900s rural life, and the Dortmund Korean association’s display of traditional costumes and music. 

The tables were set up on the Dortmund to Duisburg side of the road – the other side has been left empty for people to ride bikes or skate up and down from performance to performance.