20,000 tables were lined up on the northbound lane of the A40, forming the main event area. Several smaller stages and tables were also set up for local cultural groups to give visitors a flavor of the cultural diversity of Germany’s Ruhrgebiet.

The southbound lane was free for cyclists, skaters and walkers. Germany’s A40 the busiest highway in the country was the venue for a hist of small theaters.

The festival of Still Life and among those taking part; local sports clubs, comedians and actors, school reunions, birthday parties and even weddings. Along 60-km long table the event was one of the biggest in the "RUHR.2010" calendar.

The long table became the hos for the meeting of "cultures, generations and nations. Fritz Pleitgen, the director of RUHR.2010 said he sees the event as a way for "citizens to not only see the cultural capital, but also to participate with it."

Pleitgen had the idea for the event when he was working as a correspondent in New York for the German public broadcaster ARD in the 1980s. He said he saw how a highway in New York was closed on Sundays in the summer to allow walkers, inline skaters and cyclists to use the lanes.

Tables and cyclists either side of train tracks Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: The idea for ’Still life’ was created from the New York event. Pleitgen brought the idea to Germany and said he hopes that this will create something that "connects" people. He thinks the "Still life" project has the ability to become "an emotional founding moment of the Ruhr metropolis."