The partly wet and cool weather in the second half of the festival could hardly dampen the mood. People strolled leisurely across the site, spread out in tents, beer gardens and streets. Despite the high number of visitors, there were fewer crimes and the Oktoberfest medical guard had to treat fewer patients.
“The Oktoberfest was particularly relaxed this year,” summarized festival director Clemens Baumgärtner (CSU). The security concept worked with the support of the police and fire brigade. He hopes that this trend will continue.
Numerous guests came from abroad, especially from the USA and Italy, but also Great Britain, Austria, Poland, France, Switzerland, Spain, the Netherlands and, for the first time, increasingly from India. The majority wore lederhosen and dirndls. The guests increasingly turned to higher-quality variants in order to completely immerse themselves in the “Universe of Oktoberfest,” as the festival management explained.
Picture gallery: O’zapft is! The Oktoberfest in Munich has opened
GERMANY-BEER-FESTIVAL-OKTOBERFEST (Foto: KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV (AFP)) Bild 1/45
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“It was a peaceful Oktoberfest. And it was a safe Oktoberfest,” said the police. The appeals of the security authorities were fruitful and the guests were attentive and looked out for each other, praised police press spokesman Andreas Franken. The number of crimes fell by around 25 percent.
The innkeepers report an increase of around nine percent in the food. The chicken remains a hit, but at the same time organic products as well as vegetarian and vegan delicacies are increasingly in demand. Around seven million pints of beer ran down thirsty throats (2023: 7.2 million liters).
The increased security precautions, which had been widely discussed in the run-up to the festival after the terrorist attack in Solingen and the shootings in Munich, ran smoothly.
