The rain is pouring, so is the beer: After two years of corona withdrawal, the Oktoberfest has begun. According to estimates by the festival management, around 700,000 guests came to the festival grounds on the first weekend. That was significantly fewer than at the Wiesn 2019 before the corona pandemic – at that time the number of visitors was around one million.
Wiesnchef Clemens Baumgärtner (CSU) said he was looking forward to a relaxed start and at the same time hoped for better weather. “For the next two weeks, we hope that Petrus will remember what decent Wiesn weather looks like.”
Large crowds of visitors when the site opens
The audience on the site was mixed. According to the festival management, many families with children and guests came from abroad, for example from the USA and France. The first guests had already been waiting at the entrances before sunrise on Saturday in order to be at the front in the beer tent when the site opened. The first tents closed their doors around noon.
Atmosphere in the tents euphoric and exuberant
According to host spokesman Christian Schottenhamel, a similar number of visitors came to the tents as at the Wiesn 2019. The atmosphere was downright euphoric and people were just happy to be celebrating the Oktoberfest again. The spokesman for the small Wiesn tents, Otto Lindinger, also reported that the audience was getting younger. As always, the Oktoberfest chicken was a hit when it came to food, but meatless dishes were also in demand. The coveted Wiesn beer, which this year costs up to 13.80 euros per liter, also flowed.