Safety and security at the 183rd instalment of Munich’s, Bavaria’s and Germany’s most famous, traditional and important festival has been subject of in the Munich City Council and on the streets of the Bavarian capital long before the unfortunate events of the past days.
A fence around the Oktoberfest grounds at the Theresienwiese had been in planning, but the Council, led by Mayor Dieter Reiter, dismissed the plans to close the 350 metres which have always been kept open, two weeks ago. All local media report today July, 25, 2016. Although following the events on the Wurzburg train, there have been plans to review to review the security concept of the festival.
After the shooting at the OEZ shopping mall on Friday, everything seem to be back on the table, a fixed or mobile fence, searches of handbags, as well as a general ban on backpacks are going to be discussed, with the consent of Mayor Reiter: “People would undertand.”
Tent keepers of the major beer tents of the festival expect visits to be a few percent lower than in previous year, but Wiggerl Hagen of the Löwenbrau tent told tz.de today, July 25, that there haven’t been any cancellations of seats at his tent so far. Toni Roiderer from the Hacker tent said: “Bavarian Police are outstanding, we trust them to come up with the best possible security concept.
The City Council will go over the subject of Oktoberfest security once more in the course of the current week and we’ll keep you posted on all things concerning this years Oktoberfest, so check back often.
Over 6 million beer loving visitors are expected at the 183rd instalment of the traditional Bavarian beer festival in 2016. This year the Oktoberfest is set to take place at the Theresienwiese from Saturday, September 17 until Monday, October 3 (German Reunification Day).
