The big cleanup has begun.

Soon after daybreak Sunday city crews and private contractors started picking up the debris left behind on the grassy hillside of the Eastern Promenade by 15,000 people from Maine and across the country who turned out for Mumford & Sons’ “Gentlemen of the Road Stopover” traveling musical festival Saturday.

Additional Photos

James Baldwin of Portland carries bags of returnables up the hill on the Eastern Prom last spring. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer

Robert Fogg of Portland Public Services Department cleans up trash with a turf sweeper on the hill at Eastern Prom Sunday. Fogg was one of many workers cleaning up following Saturday's Mumford & Sons concert. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer

Carol Whitmore of Portland searches the ground with a medal detector on the Eastern Prom Sunday morning, the day after the Mumford & Sons concert. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer

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“It’s a total mess, but I have seen it like this on Fourth of July,” said Laragh Kavanaugh, a Congress Street resident.

The concert promotors are reimbursing the city for all if its expenses, including the cleanup.

City officials said they won’t know until Monday how much trash was generated but they do not expect it to be any more than the litter from the 50,000 people who gather on the Eastern Prom for the Fourth of July celebration.