“All you need at a visit to the Oktoberfest are hunger, thirst, a good mood, but no rucksack” said the spokesman for the tent keepers at the “Wiesn” Toni Roiderer yesterday evening; all Munich based local media report today, July 27, 2016. The patrons of the major tents at the huge beer festival have agreed to support a proposal by the Mayor of Munich Dieter Reiter from a few days ago.

“The Oktoberfest isn’t that expensive that you’d have to carry a backpack full of money along with you,” he continued. Safety came first, he said, but the feeling of fear shouldn’t be encouraged.

The Council of Elders of the City Council had decided, after the recent attacks in Munich and Ansbach, to review the safety concept in coordination with security agencies and police and possibly adapt it if needed.

Besides spokesman Roiderer, other Oktoberfest innkeepers also had have also spoken about the backpacks at the festival. “We have enforced the ban on smoking at the biggest festival in the world, said Ludwig Hagn from the Löwenbräu tent. "As I see it, the backpacks are not a big problem." Toni Winklhofer from the Tradition said that a backpack is only and one would have to look out for it not to lose it. Christian Schottenhamel from the eponymous tent said that they all had “Great confidence in the police.”

Safety at this year’s Oktoberfest has been a topic in the Bavarian capital since the end of the 2015 instalment of the festival. Even with the latest events in mind, one has to wonder how long the discussion is going to last. The Oktoberfest begins in only a month and a half. Decisions on safety measures should have already been reached and announced.

Some 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).