regional customs
“Ozapft is”: Munich Oktoberfest opens
Oktoberfest visitors rush onto the festival meadow after the opening of the square. photo
© Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/dpa
There is a state of emergency again in Munich: it is Oktoberfest. With sunshine and a cloudless sky, it was a start straight out of a picture book.
In bright sunshine, the Oktoberfest hosts had marched to the festival grounds in carriages. After a rainy Oktoberfest in 2022 with temperatures as low as ten degrees in some cases, they are hoping for sunny autumn weather for the coming holidays. The forecasts from the German Weather Service are not that bad, at least tomorrow it will remain warm and sunny.
Early in the morning, the first Oktoberfest fans – mostly in dirndls and lederhosen – were waiting for the festival grounds to open. When the gates opened around 9 a.m., hundreds rushed towards the marquees to get a good spot.
The list of prominent guests is long
The great-grandson of the last Bavarian king, Franz Duke of Bavaria, came to the council box in the Schottenhamel tent for the tapping. The Austrian singer Andreas Gabalier as well as the folk music duo Marianne and Michael Hartl and the actresses Michaela May and Jutta Speidel were also in the tent. The TV presenters Florian Silbereisen and Carolin Reiber were also there.
Around six million visitors are expected until October 3rd – at least. Last year only around 5.7 million visitors came. There are no longer any special Corona worries. The festival lasts 18 days – two days longer than usual. It has been extended beyond the first weekend in October until October 3rd – a Tuesday.
A quart of beer costs between 12.60 euros and 14.90 euros, an average of around 6.1 percent more than last year. For the first time, there will be four water dispensers with free drinking water at the festival. The average price for a liter of table water in the beer tents is 10.04 euros.
The state elections in Bavaria on October 8th will not play a role. The operating rules prohibit political events, including election campaigns.
The police have around 600 officers on duty. There are 450 paramedics and 55 doctors at the Oktoberfest medical station. There are also significantly more than 2,000 stewards at the entrances and in the tents.