The world-famous Oktoberfest festival will return to Munich this fall, authorities said Friday, following a two-year pause due to the pandemic.
According to Dieter Reiter, the mayor of the Bavarian capital, the annual beer festival will run from Sept. 17 to Oct. 3, Germany’s national day, without pandemic restrictions.
Announcing the resumption of the festival, Reiter said that it was a difficult decision to make due to the war in Ukraine, which could make such celebrations look inappropriate.
“Ultimately, it’s up to everyone to decide for themselves anyway whether and how much they want to celebrate at the Volksfest,” Reiter said in a statement, adding, “I’m looking forward to a Oktoberfest 2022 that I hope everyone who wants to go will enjoy.”
Supporters of the event’s resumption have rebutted concerns about the festival’s appropriateness during the Ukraine war by claiming that the festival contributes to world understanding because it attracts people from so many nations.
The Bavarian Hotel and Restaurant Association welcomed the announcement.
According to the breweries’ statistics, the 6.3 million visitors who attended the event in 2019 consumed 7.3 million litres of beer.
Oktoberfest, which began in 1810 to commemorate the wedding of Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria to Princess Therese, has been canceled 26 times in its nearly 200-year history due to wars or various pandemics.
This is the first time in two years that Oktoberfest has been officially celebrated, as festivities were canceled both last year and in 2020.
“All [Oktoberfest] fans are happy today. I personally am also very happy,” Munich’s Economic Officer and Head of Oktoberfest Clemens Baumgärtner said in a statement. “I believe that we will experience a mega [Oktoberfest] 2022.”
The 2022 festival will be officially opened with the traditional tapping of the first beer barrel in the Schottenhamel tent at noon on September 17.
This year, visitors will once again be able to take advantage of historic rides at the Oide Wiesn. This event was originally intended as a one-off to mark the 200th anniversary of the Oktoberfest in 2010, but proved so popular that it became a tradition in its own right.