(Frankfurt) The famous Munich Oktoberfest will take place this year, from September 17 to October 3, after two cancellations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the mayor of the Bavarian capital announced on Friday.
Posted at 10:23 a.m.
“I have instructed the administration to launch the organization of Oktoberfest 2022 without health restrictions”, explained Mayor Dieter Reiter during a press conference.
The meeting, which normally brings together more than 5 million people, including a third from abroad, had been canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“The framework has evolved” and “we can no longer speak of an overload of the health system”, noted the elected official, who would however have liked to put in place access restrictions, such as for example a health pass or compulsory tests.
But “there is no law that authorizes me” to decide on such measures, regretted Mr. Reiter.
The health situation remains degraded in Germany, which is currently registering more than 100,000 new cases of COVID-19 every 24 hours. The seven-day incidence rate exceeds 750 and several experts are warning of a resurgence of the epidemic.
“I hope the situation doesn’t get worse this fall and Oktoberfest isn’t canceled at the last minute,” he added.
While the holding of funfairs at the time of the war in Ukraine was debated, the mayor of Munich also explained that “this does not justify” a third cancellation.
“No one can predict the situation” in several months, justified Mr. Reiter.
The cancellation in 2020 had been the first since World War II. In 1854 and 1873, it had not taken place because of cholera epidemics.
The production of hops and beer is elevated to the rank of national cult in Germany and especially in Bavaria.
Germans are among the biggest consumers of beer in Europe with 84 liters per capita in 2021.
Recently, the pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine sent raw material prices skyrocketing and forced several breweries to raise prices.