At least six million people are expected to sip on the best of Bavarian beer over the 16 heady days that make up the centuries-old festival Oktoberfest in Munich.
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Mayor Dieter Reiter officially started Oktoberfest at noon on Saturday when he inserted the tap into the first beer keg, signalling the 189th start of the festival.
Thousands of beer lovers celebrated in the Munich fairground as the first to clink their steins during the world’s largest folk festival.
Servers immediately began ferrying trays — each carrying up to eight glass mugs — to tables.
The celebration runs through October 6 in 18 large tents covering the Theresienwiese fairground.
This year’s festival includes stepped-up security in the wake of a deadly knife attack in Solingen, a city roughly 470 kilometres northwest of Munich.
The violence on 23 August left three people dead and eight more wounded, and the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack, without citing evidence.
As a result, organisers added metal detectors to the security line-up for the first time in Oktoberfest’s history, but said there were no concrete threats.
Tens of thousands of people lined the streets early Saturday to watch the opening parade as others raced to claim tables inside the tents.
They gossiped, played cards and walked around the fairgrounds to check out the food options and amusement park rides to kill time before they could start drinking.
Revellers sprinted through the fairgrounds at 9am as soon as the entrances opened, despite security officers’ attempts to keep the procession orderly.
Some six million visitors are expected over the festival’s 16 days — up to 600,000 each day — and can expect to shell out between 13.60 and 15.30 euros for a 1-litre mug, or “Maß” of beer. This year’s prices are roughly 3.87% more than in 2023.
Mikael Caselitz, 24, was born and raised in Munich and has attended Oktoberfest for years. He said everyone should travel to Munich for the festival at least once in their lives.
“It can get really crowded and disgusting when people puke on the side of the road,” he joked, “but overall it’s a really fun experience.”
Ollie Standen woke up at 6am to get in line early for Oktoberfest, where the beer starts flowing at noon. The 21-year-old from England is in Munich this year for a university exchange program and a local friend told him he had to join the festivities.
ADVERTISEMENTHe said he’s looking forward to trying different German beers that aren’t usually found in the United Kingdom. “It’s a great German tradition and I’m excited to be here,” Standen said.
The event was skipped in 2020 and 2021 as authorities grappled with COVID-19, but returned in 2022.
The first Oktoberfest was held Oct. 17, 1810 to celebrate the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria to Theresa of Saxony.