19/10/2025
Throughout history, certain funerals have drawn immense crowds — not only for the fame of the deceased but also for the depth of public emotion and political symbolism attached to their deaths. Some of these ceremonies, however, descended into chaos due to the sheer number of mourners, overwhelming security, and uncontainable grief. Below is a breakdown of some of the most chaotic and heavily attended funerals ever recorded.
1. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (Iran, 1989)
The funeral of Iran’s first Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, is considered the most attended in recorded history. Around 10.2 million mourners — roughly one-sixth of Iran’s population at the time — flooded Tehran to pay their last respects. The crowd’s intensity caused severe chaos: the coffin was repeatedly dropped as mourners tried to touch or tear pieces of the shroud for blessings. In the mayhem, at least eight people died and hundreds were injured. This funeral remains listed in the Guinness World Records as the largest by population percentage.
2. Gamal Abdel Nasser (Egypt, 1970)
The death of Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser sparked one of the largest gatherings in the Arab world. An estimated five million mourners filled Cairo’s streets, while millions more across Arab nations grieved simultaneously. The emotional outpouring turned dangerous as crowds surged toward the procession route, leading to dozens of deaths, with reports suggesting around 46 fatalities due to suffocation and trampling.
3. Qasem Soleimani (Iran, 2020)
Major General Qasem Soleimani’s assassination led to an outpouring of grief across Iran. Millions participated in multi-city processions, including over one million people in Tehran alone. However, tragedy struck in his hometown of Kerman, where overcrowding caused a deadly stampede that killed 56 people and injured hundreds more. The event echoed the scale and emotion of Khomeini’s funeral three decades earlier.
4. Yasser Arafat (Palestine, 2004)
The burial of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was marked by chaos and confusion. Originally planned for Gaza, the funeral was relocated to Egypt and later Ramallah to prevent overcrowding. When his helicopter landed with the coffin, tens of thousands of mourners broke through security lines, surrounding the aircraft in a frenzy of grief. In the turmoil, at least two people died and many others were injured as the ceremony became nearly uncontrollable.
5. Raila Odinga (Kenya, 2025)
The sudden death of Kenya's veteran opposition leader and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga from a heart attack in India at age 80 triggered an unprecedented wave of national mourning. His body was repatriated to Nairobi on October 16, drawing hundreds of thousands of supporters who lined the streets, many weeping openly and waving tree branches in traditional Luo mourning rituals. The state funeral on October 17 at Nairobi's Kasarani Stadium was attended by over 100,000 people, including dignitaries from across Africa, but descended into chaos when massive crowds overwhelmed barriers during the procession, leading to a stampede that injured dozens and required police intervention with tear gas. Further unrest erupted in Nairobi's Kibera slum, Odinga's political stronghold, where clashes with security forces resulted in at least five deaths amid the raw grief over the loss of a towering figure in Kenya's democracy movement.
Most Attended Burial in History
Among all these, Ayatollah Khomeini’s funeral stands out as the most attended burial in human history. Over 10 million mourners participated, and it remains the official world record for the largest funeral crowd. Many Iranians viewed Khomeini as a spiritual figure with divine connection, believing that being close to his coffin could grant blessings — a belief that intensified the emotional and physical chaos of the event.
