IT was expected to be one of the biggest demonstrations in American history – and yesterday it lived up to its billing as more than half a million people amassed in Washington DC to protest against the newly inaugurated US president.

Even that huge crowd was only a fraction of the numbers which turned out across the world in solidarity. An estimated 2.5 million people took to the street at rallies led by women in around 600 cities as part of a global day of protest aimed at showing Donald Trump activists will not be silent over the next four year.

At an estimated 500,000, the crowds in the US capital were expected to be double the numbers which turned out for Donald Trump’s inauguration the previous day. Organisers had originally sought a permit for around 200,000.

The demonstration was called the Women’s March on Washington, but organisers stressed the message that “women’s rights are human rights” and the ranks of protestors were filled with men and people from the LGBT community.

Protestors were there to display their loathing for the US president and dismay that so many fellow Americans voted for him.

Women brandished signs with messages such as "Women won't back down" and "Less fear more love" and decried Trump's stand on such issues as abortion, health care, diversity and climate change.

Many protesters arrived wearing hand-knitted pink "pussyhats" - a message of female empowerment inspired by the crude comments which emerged during the US presidential campaign in which Trump boasted about grabbing women by their genitals.

The march attracted significant backing from celebrities, with famous names such as Scarlett Johansson, Ashley Judd, Cher, Katy Perry and Julianne Moore pledging their support.

Actress America Ferrera told the crowd in the US capital: "We march today for the moral core of this nation, against which our new president is waging a war. Our dignity, our character, our rights have all been under attack and a platform of hate and division assumed power yesterday. But the president is not America. We are America, and we are here to stay."

Rena Wilson, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was among those taking part and said she hoped women can send Trump a message that they're "not going anywhere".

Joy Rodriguez, of Miami, arrived with her husband, William, and their two daughters, aged 12 and 10. "I want to make sure their rights are not infringed on in these years coming up," she said.

Retired teacher Linda Lastella, 69, who came from Metuchen, New Jersey, said she had never marched before but felt the need to speak out when "many nations are experiencing this same kind of pullback and hateful, hateful attitudes."

"It just seemed like we needed to make a very firm stand of where we were," she said.

Rose Wurm, 64, a retired medical secretary from Bedford, Pennsylvania, boarded a Washington-bound bus in Hagerstown, Maryland, at 7 am carrying two signs: one asking Trump to stop tweeting, and one asking him to fix, not trash, the Obamacare health law.

"There are parts of it that do need change. It's something new, something unique that's not going to be perfect right out of the gate," she said.

Hillary Clinton praised those attending the march and thanked attendees on Twitter for "standing, speaking and marching for our values". She said this is as "important as ever".

She also revived her campaign slogan and said in the tweet she believes "we're always Stronger Together".

In stark contrast, Trump stayed silent on the protests and issued a tweet saying: “I am honered (SIC) to serve you, the great American People, as your 45th President of the United States!” – with the spelling later corrected.

One response to his post said: “America is honored as well. It’s obvious by looking at the inaugural turnout. Oh. Wait. That’s the protest against you.”

Demonstrations were held in around 300 cities across the US, including New York, Boston, Maryland, Denver and Seattle.

The scale of the turnout in Chicago led to police designating it as a rally, rather than a march. Around 22,000 had been expected, but the turnout was estimated at 50,000.

The idea for the Women’s March in Washington took off after a number of women posted on social media in the hours after Trump's election about the need to mobilise.

Hundreds of groups quickly joined the cause, pushing a wide range of causes, including abortion rights, gun control, climate change and immigrant rights.

The organisers of the march said women are "hurting and scared" as the new American president takes office and want a greater voice for women in political life.

In a statement they said: “The Women’s March on Washington aims to send a message to all levels of government, including but not limited to the incoming Presidential administration, that we stand together in solidarity and we expect elected leaders to act to protect the rights of women, their families and their communities.”