15 February 2003 anti-war protests

On 15 February 2003, a coordinated day of protests was held across the world in which people in more than 600 cities expressed opposition to the imminent Iraq War. It was part of a series of protests and political events that had begun in 2002 and continued as the invasion, war, and occupation took place. The day was described by social movement researchers as "the largest protest event in human history".^[1]

According to BBC News, between six and ten million people took part in protests in up to sixty countries over the weekend of 15 and 16 February.^[2]

The largest protests took place in Europe. The one in Rome involved around three million people, and is listed in the 2004 Guinness Book of World Records as the largest anti-war rally in history. Madrid hosted the second largest rally^{[citation needed]} with more than 1.5 million people protesting against the invasion of Iraq. In Beijing, three smaller protests were held the following day, attended by foreigners and domestic students.^[3]

^ Walgrave, Stefaan; Rucht, Dieter (2010). "Introduction". The World Says No to War: Demonstrations against the War on Iraq (PDF). Social Movements, Protest, and Contention. Vol. 33. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. p. xiii. ASIN B0076HYOWA. ISBN 978-0-8166-5095-8. JSTOR 10.5749/j.cttts43x. LCCN 2009046761. OCLC 5559554465. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 February 2016. Retrieved 15 February 2016. Together, the February 15 demonstrations were the largest protest event in human history.
^ Cite error: The named reference Millions was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ [1] China Daily report on 31 March protests

[Walgrave2010-1] Walgrave, Stefaan; Rucht, Dieter (2010). "Introduction". The World Says No to War: Demonstrations against the War on Iraq (PDF). Social Movements, Protest, and Contention. Vol. 33. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. p. xiii. ASIN B0076HYOWA. ISBN 978-0-8166-5095-8. JSTOR 10.5749/j.cttts43x. LCCN 2009046761. OCLC 5559554465. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 February 2016. Retrieved 15 February 2016. Together, the February 15 demonstrations were the largest protest event in human history.

[Millions-2] Cite error: The named reference Millions was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[3] [1] China Daily report on 31 March protests

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