Not at all. Went to the Acropolis last year and all the organised spectator points were superb and you could stand right next to the stage. This was a spectator point
IMG_7043 by
Jan Yeo, on Flickr
As was this:
IMG_7150 by
Jan Yeo, on Flickr
We managed a few spots at Ypres that were out of the spectator areas, but as someone visiting the event for the first time we found it very difficult to find easily accessible spots where we could park and make it into the stage.
As for the historics, well I tried the official website but the information on it was crap.