Oktoberfest 2024 in Munich: First week of the Oktoberfest is quiet and peaceful – Munich

If things continue like this, this year’s Oktoberfest will be heading for a new record. According to the festival management, 3.6 million guests flocked to Oktoberfest in the first week, 200,000 more than last year. Of these, 206,000 visited the Oide Wiesn, up from 180,000 in 2023. “I had a lot of trouble,” says economics officer and Oktoberfest boss Clemens Baumgärtner (CSU) in reference to the Wiesn weather, in German: There was also luck in it. “But we are not chasing records.” As a reminder: 7.2 million people came to the Oktoberfest in 2023, more than ever before.

As always, the guests come from all kinds of countries, many from the USA and other European countries. This is also reflected in consumption: the innkeepers and stand operators have sold ten percent more food than last year, beer consumption has increased by around seven to eight percent, and non-alcoholic drinks have also been sold “very well,” says Baumgärtner. The festival management always only gives exact figures at the end of the Oktoberfest.

Visitors still prefer to eat Bavarian cuisine, but the ever-increasing range of vegetarian and vegan dishes remains in demand. The most popular meatless food is cheese spaetzle. However, consumption also has its negative sides: 429 tons of waste have been generated so far, which is 30 percent more than in the previous year.

Open detailed view

Open detailed view

In order to curb the black and gray market in Oktoberfest reservations and prevent exorbitant prices, the Oktoberfest-Booking.com portal has been in existence since last year, on which unused reservations can be exchanged or sold at the original price. 21 companies use the online portal and more than 600 transactions have been processed so far, twice as many as in 2023.

The visitors are apparently quite happy to spend even beyond the rides and beer tents: sales of souvenirs are going well, says Baumgärtner. American guests in particular like to stock up on Oktoberfest T-shirts; traditional hats and flower hair wreaths are just as popular, as is the chicken hat.

Oktoberfest hit: none

When it comes to music in the tents, however, there is no clear trend emerging at the 189th Oktoberfest. There hasn’t been a Wiesn hit yet, although the bands have included “Major Tom” or new songs like “Shake it off” by Taylor Swift in their repertoire alongside all their classics.

Despite increases in beer consumption and visitor numbers, the police are drawing a positive interim conclusion with significantly fewer crimes, as police spokesman Andreas Franken reports. Although they were predominantly alerted, the officers only discovered 317 crimes on the site by Sunday morning, compared to 479 at the same time in 2023. So far there have been no capital crimes such as robbery or manslaughter. The number of sexual offenses is declining slightly with 31 reported cases. Among other things, women were filmed under their skirts and others were groped. A case in which a security guard at a tent reached under a woman’s skirt counts as rape.

Open detailed view

The “Safe Oktoberfest for Girls and Women” campaign, which supports victims of sexual assault, reported slightly more incidents than in the previous year. At that time, 143 people had sought help by half time. While most women used to come accompanied by police or paramedics, today more and more women go to the Safe Space in the Oktoberfest service center on their own, reports Kristina Gottlöber, spokeswoman for the campaign. Consciousness has changed; today women put up with themselves less than before.

In the area of ​​violent crimes, the police recorded 84 physical injuries (2023: 130). 31 are considered dangerous, including eight Masskrug brawls. The number of thefts is also declining with 73 crimes. The use of pickpockets proved to be successful and word apparently got around. The police reported only 16 pickpocketings, compared to 79 at halftime last year.

Fewer drug possession charges

Since the possession of small amounts of cannabis has become legal, the number of reports has fallen: 15 people were reported, one for trafficking cannabis, one for possession of more than 30 grams, and 13 people for smoking weed on the festival grounds.

There were a total of 59 drug charges, most of which involved cocaine-related offenses. During security checks at the entrances, knives were seized in two cases, and cocaine and a pair of precision scales were seized in one case.

The medical service at the Aicher Ambulance has so far had to care for 3,026 patients, eleven percent fewer than in the previous year. Alcohol poisoning, injuries, such as those caused by falls, and other illnesses, especially cardiovascular diseases, occur in roughly equal proportions. The wear teams were deployed 991 times and the computer tomography in the service center was used 109 times.

Overall, everyone speaks of a quiet and peaceful first week of the Oktoberfest.