The three-day festival ended up lasting four days
Woodstock was billed as a three-day festival. But the chaotic conditions, including crowding, inclement weather and rampant drug use, led to delays, and the festival ended up stretching to a fourth day.
The set list was determined by traffic conditions
The first performer was supposed to have been Sweetwater, but they were stuck in traffic, so to get things going, the organisers asked folk musician Richie Havens to step up and perform the first set. Many acts had to be helicoptered in, including Arlo Guthrie and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.
The first set lasted three hours
Once Havens began, “Every time he tried to leave the stage, organisers convinced him to keep playing, as they still hadn’t rounded up the next act,” according to History. At some point, Havens ran out of music of his own and was left to improvise. He played Beatles tunes.