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Oktoberfest festival to take place again in Munich

Timothy Jones
April 29, 2022

Local authorities have decided to allow the Oktoberfest festival to take place after two years of cancellations.

https://p.dw.com/p/4AbhJ
View of the Oktoberfest in Munich
The Oktoberfest draws several millions of visitors from all over the worldImage: Martin Siepmann/imageBROKER/picture alliance

The world-famous Oktoberfest is to take place again this year in the Bavarian capital, Munich, after a two-year break caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Announcing the resumption of the festival, Munich Mayor Dieter Reiter said he had had a hard time making the decision because of the war in Ukraine, which could make such celebrations seem inappropriate.

He said that no coronavirus restrictions would be imposed on visitors as there was no legal basis for doing so.

The festival is to run from September 17 to October 3.

Reiter added that he hoped nothing would occur to make a cancellation at short notice necessary.

Full tent at the Oktoberfest
The Oktoberfest is to take place without any restrictions such as social distancingImage: Christof Stache/AFP

Major drawcard

There had been calls from many quarters to allow what is the world's largest folk festival to take place again this year, including from Bavaria's premier, Markus Söder, the festival organizers and Munich local politicians.

In 2019, the last time the festival took place, the 6.3 million guests drank 7.3 million litres of beer, according to the breweries’ balance sheets.  

The festival has been canceled just 26 times in its more than two centuries of existence. Most cancellations were due to war, but cholera outbreaks were to blame twice.

Supporters of resuming the event have countered reservations about the appropriateness of the festival during the conflict in Ukraine by maintaining that the Oktoberfest is a contribution to international understanding by virtue of having visitors from so many countries.

Edited by: Kieran Burke