After being postponed for two years because to the Covid-19 outbreak, Oktoberfest has now returned in Germany.
The largest beer festival in the world, Oktoberfest, began on Saturday for the first time since 2019, ending a two-year hiatus brought on by the coronavirus outbreak.
The event, which typically draws over 6 million visitors to Munich each year, including tourists from all over the world, attracted thousands of people wearing “Lederhosen,” or leather trousers, a classic staple of Bavarian culture.
The enormous beer festival kicked off with Munich’s mayor tapping the first keg and saying “o’zapft is,” which translates to “it’s tapped” in Bavarian. After that, partygoers flocked to venues at 9:00 a.m. local time to get excellent seating.
In honor of Oktoberfest, which is currently in its 187th iteration, Euronews has gathered a collection of some of the best images from the event, including shots of the bicep-testing beer jugs, pretzels the size of dinner plants, people dressed traditionally, and much more.
At long communal tables, revelers sip beer while munching on sausages, pretzels, or pig knuckles while listening to oompah musicians.
The initial 16-day period leading up to the first Sunday in October was when Munich’s Oktoberfest was held. However, that calendar was modified in 1994 with the reunification of Germany: If the first Sunday falls on October 1 or 2, the event is extended until German Unity Day, on October 3.
Dieter Reiter, the mayor of Munich, declared earlier this year that there would be no Covid-19 restrictions on the Oktoberfest, which takes place from September 17 to October 3.
Oktoberfest through the years
The largest Volksfest in the world, Oktoberfest, includes a beer festival and a mobile amusement park. It takes place each year in Munich, Bavaria. More than six million tourists from abroad and within the country attended the 16- to 18-day folk festival, which took place from mid or late-September to about the first Sunday in October. Locally, it is referred to as d’Wiesn, after the informal name for the fairs, Theresienwiese. Since its inception in 1810, Oktoberfest has played a significant role in preserving Bavarian culture. Similar to the original Oktoberfest celebrations in Munich, Oktoberfest celebrations are also held in other places across the world.
A lot of Oktoberfest beer is consumed throughout the celebration. For instance, 7.7 million liters of beer were served over the course of the 16-day celebration in 2014, making it the year with the highest volume of beer consumption at Oktoberfest. In addition, visitors enjoy various activities like games, side stalls, and rides. Traditional meals come in a huge range as well.
The Coronavirus
Originally, the 16 days before the first Sunday in October were when the Munich Oktoberfest was held. This established schedule was changed in 1994 as a result of the unification of Germany. Therefore, the event would last until October 3 if the first Sunday in October comes on October 1 or October 2. (German Unity Day). The celebration now lasts 17 days when the first Sunday falls on October 2 and 18 days when it falls on October 1. To commemorate the occasion’s bicentennial, the celebration in 2010 ran until the first Monday in October (October 4).
In 2013, 6.4 million people went to Oktoberfest, and 6.7 million liters of beer were supplied to attendees.
The official cancellation of the 2020 Oktoberfest owing to the current coronavirus pandemic was announced on April 21, 2020, by Munich Mayor Dieter Reiter and Bavarian Minister-President Markus Söder. The next Oktoberfest will happen in 2022, as Minister-President Söder and Mayor Reiter confirmed on May 3, 2021. Söder noticed that social isolation was impossible in the festival’s beer tents.
