On Sunday, Theresienwiese fairgrounds in Munich opened at 9:00 a.m., and by noon Mayor Dieter Reiter struck the first barrel of beer in the historic Schottenhamel tent. “O’zapft is! Auf eine friedliche Wiesn!” proclaimed Reiter, formally inaugurating the 190th Oktoberfest, according to DW.
Organizers expected up to seven million visitors during the 16-day event that ends on October 5. Construction of the 14 large tents and 21 smaller ones began in late June on the 34-hectare site.
Before steins were raised, hosts and the mayor led the ceremonial entry onto the Wiesn, underscoring tradition, reported Münchner Merkur. The Schottenhamel tent, dating to 1867, is the oldest festival beer hall.
Inside the canvas-and-wood halls, even the smaller structures held up to 3,000 people while the larger ones seated about 6,000, DW noted. Entry to the fairgrounds and tents was free, but most seats required advance reservations through individual tent websites. The adjacent Oide Wiesn, a heritage area with three tents, charged a €4 entrance fee.
Beer prices generated immediate attention. The most expensive Maß cost €15.80 in the Münchner Stubn tent, DW said. Around seven million Maß are usually poured each year, and security confiscated about 98,000 souvenir steins at the exits in 2024.
Food remained as central as beer. DW and Münchner Merkur listed dishes such as Ochsenbraten, Schweinshaxen and Hendl; 2024 visitors ate about 70,000 roasted pig’s feet and half a million chickens. Menus now include vegetarian and vegan options—sweet potatoes, African bean soup, organic chickpeas and jackfruit curry—reflecting a move toward organic, locally sourced produce.
The festival drew large international crowds, with many visitors arriving from the United States, Italy, England, Austria, Poland, France, Switzerland, Spain and the Netherlands, according to DW. For the first time, notable numbers were expected from India.
Authorities reported a 25 percent drop in crimes and alcohol-related incidents in 2024, crediting an enlarged police presence and cooperative crowds, DW said. Lost-and-found staff processed 3,500 to 4,500 items annually; the 2024 collection included 16 pairs of Lederhosen, dental molds, a Viking helmet and a live leaf insect.
Oktoberfest aimed to become carbon-neutral by 2028 through green electricity, reused dish-washing water in toilets and reduced single-use plastics, DW reported. Organizers also increased reliance on organic local produce to cut transport emissions.
Münchner Merkur traced the mayoral keg-tapping ritual to 1950, when Lord Mayor Thomas Wimmer needed 17 hammer blows to open the barrel. Reiter and his predecessor Christian Ude now share the modern record of two strikes. The newspaper also recalled that the festival began in 1810 as a royal wedding celebration and had been canceled about two dozen times because of wars, cholera, inflation and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 and 2022.
The anthem Ein Prosit der Gemütlichkeit originated with Bremen journalist and composer Georg Kunoth, and a Nuremberg innkeeper helped embed the toast in Oktoberfest lore, Münchner Merkur noted. Munich has folded these borrowed customs into a celebration that still pivots on raising a liter of lager each September.
The preparation of this article relied on a news-analysis system.