All the pieces it’s essential know
On Saturday, September 19, at midday, Oktoberfest will as soon as once more open with the ceremonial tapping of the keg, throughout which the mayor of Munich drives a faucet into the primary wood barrel of beer and calls out “O’zapft is,” a Bavarian phrase that interprets to “It’s tapped.”
His name shall be adopted by 12 gunshots, a sign that lets all pageant tents know that they’ll begin serving beer.
More than 6 million persons are anticipated on the planet’s largest Volksfest, which runs this yr by October 4.
Expanded safety measures to forestall overcrowding
The pageant grounds are huge: Oktoberfest takes place on Munich’s Theresienwiese, a 34.5-hectare website roughly the scale of 48 soccer fields.
But crowds can swell, particularly on weekends — typically to dangerous levels.
Last yr, officers needed to briefly shut the entrances.
One purpose is that just about all 38 beer tents function in two or three reservation shifts. When one group of friends leaves and the subsequent arrives on the 14 massive tents — which every accommodate a number of thousand individuals — enormous numbers of holiday makers find yourself attempting to enter and exit on the similar time.
That’s how, on one Saturday afternoon finally yr’s Oktoberfest, the crowds grew to become so dense that motion briefly got here to a standstill. The crush triggered some guests to panic.
To stop that from taking place once more, the town of Munich has overhauled its safety plan for this yr’s pageant.
Twenty-six new cameras, along with 56 police cameras, will monitor the grounds, whereas an AI system will analyze customer flows and problem alerts if areas turn into overcrowded.
A newly established coordination heart can also be meant to enhance communication between safety companies and occasion organizers.
Organizers and police have drawn up a plan to defend towards drones over the grounds, although no particulars have been disclosed.
In addition, 600 law enforcement officials shall be deployed on website.
Oktoberfest is known worldwide, however most guests are native
Oktoberfest could also be identified across the planet as an global vacationer attraction, however most of its guests do not journey very far to get there.
A examine commissioned by the town of Munich final yr discovered that the pageant stays overwhelmingly regional.
In 2025, 41% of holiday makers got here from Munich, one other 25% from the encircling space and 9% from elsewhere within the area. In all, three-quarters of Oktoberfest’s roughly 6.5 million guests got here from Bavaria. Another 4% got here from elsewhere in Germany.
About 21% of holiday makers — roughly 1.35 million individuals — traveled from overseas. Americans made up the biggest group of global guests, accounting for slightly below 20% of the full, or greater than 270,000 individuals. Italians had been subsequent, at simply over 13%.
Beer costs rise once more
Cannabis is banned all through the pageant grounds.
Alcohol, alternatively, is out there in no matter portions guests are prepared — and ready — to pay for. A Mass, the standard 1-liter mug of beer served at Oktoberfest, prices between €14.80 and €15.90 ($17-$18.25) this yr, solely barely greater than final yr.
A liter of desk water is available in at a hefty €11, though the grounds even have a number of free consuming water fountains.
Visitors planning to take pleasure in considered one of Oktoberfest’s many rides could be clever to remain comparatively sober. Tickets price wherever from slightly below €5 to €14.
Germany’s conventional fairground tradition was formally added to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage listing in 2026, and that custom stays very a lot alive on the 191st Oktoberfest. According to organizers, about 90% of the pageant’s greater than 130 fairground operators can hint their roots again to the nineteenth century.
The pageant stays decidedly conventional with regards to fee, too: Many distributors nonetheless settle for money solely. Visitors caught with none can withdraw cash from ATMs on the grounds.
Dirndl or lederhosen for Oktoberfest?
Then there’s the query of what to put on.
Bavarians who take pleasure in doing issues correctly typically present up in native conventional gown.
The dirndl is the standard gown worn by ladies and women, which consists of close-fitting bodice with a low neckline, a shirt worn beneath the bodice, a large high-waisted skirt and an apron.
Men put on lederhosen, the standard leather-based shorts or knee-length breeches with suspenders.
For those that should not Bavarian, lederhosen and dirndls are actually an possibility, however they’re certainly not required. Munich’s occasion advertising and marketing division, Simply Munich, advises first-time guests to contemplate renting conventional garb reasonably than shopping for it.
Be conscious that locals discover low cost imitations of conventional gown off-putting, as Simply Munich factors out: “If you need to keep away from wry appears, keep away from Seppl hats, ‘leather-based pants’ made of material and garish mini plastic dirndls. With denims and a checkered shirt, you may positively be extra suitably dressed.”
This article was initially written in German.
