Coachella returned to the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, for its 25th edition, with the first weekend unfolding on Friday, April 10, 2026, and Saturday, April 11, 2026. Festivalgoers packed the grounds as KATSEYE, Lizzo, Sexyy Red, Slayyyter and Sombr performed across the opening days.
The question many people ask each spring is how many people attend Coachella, and this weekend offered the festival’s familiar answer in images rather than numbers: crowds, stages and a steady stream of performers moving through the desert event. Megan Skiendiel, Daniela Avanzini, Yoonchae Jeong, Lara Raj and Sophia Laforteza of KATSEYE took the stage on Friday, while David Lee Roth posed for a portrait that same day. On Saturday, festivalgoers were seen at the Do LaB stage, underscoring how the festival’s draw extends beyond any single set.
The broader context is that the images came from a photo gallery curated by photo editors, documenting the festival’s return to Indio for a milestone year. Coachella’s appeal is built on scale as much as lineup, and the opening weekend again showed why the event remains one of the biggest annual gatherings in live music.
What remains unanswered in this gallery is the exact attendance total, because no number is given here. But the scene itself is clear: Coachella is large enough that even before the weekend is over, it fills the polo club with performers, portraits and festivalgoers moving from stage to stage.
