Officials: 3.1 million watched air show

The city of Chicago's estimate of the number of people that attended its annual Air & Water Show over the weekend may invite a little skepticism.

City organizers said 3.1 million people viewed the three-day show. In past years, the show was presented on Saturday and Sunday and averaged two million people.

According to Cindy Gatziolis of the Mayor's Office of Special Events the numbers for the air show was reached with aerial photographs coupled with police formulas for how many people can fit into known areas. That number was adjusted to account for attendees who refreshed the crowd as others trickle home.

Although city officials say they were happy with show attendance, they stressed Monday the 3.1 million figure was an estimate.

Gatziolis said no matter how it was counted, the show drew "just lots of people."