Some 42 to 44,000 people attended one of the biggest music events in the history of post-Communist Romania: a Depeche Mode concert in Bucharest on Friday.

The huge attendance, matched only by two Michael Jackson gigs in the early nineties, created a mystical atmosphere as the incredible following Depeche Mode held among young Romanians in the late eighties and early nineties did not betray their idols and came to witness Dave Gahan, Martin Gore and Andrew Fletcher flesh-and-bone on the National Stadium stage.

Many of the people present complained that in some parts of the stadium there were problems with sound and acoustics. But after a slow start, when the audience was too greedy watching and listening to the show, most people forgot all problems and accepted to bond with the band when goldies such as Enjoy the Silence and Personal Jesus were played.

A huge white banner welcomed the band: “A Lifetime Waiting for This Night” - a reference to the almost two decades that Romanian fans waited for the gig.

The concert was part of the Touring the Angel tour promoting the latest DM album, Playing the Angel. It followed a similar concert in Sofia, Bulgaria.