Krause opens 191st Oktoberfest with two taps

The 191st Oktoberfest opened in Munich with new Mayor Dominik Krause tapping the first beer in two strokes, broadcaster BR reported. Police described the opening day as calm, while large crowds behaved in a disciplined manner.

The festival on the Theresienwiese festival grounds will run until October 4, with around seven million visitors expected. Despite beer prices of up to 15.90 euros, the festival tents were well filled.

Disciplined crowds at the entrances

Getting a place in a festival tent on Saturday required patience. Visitors who wanted to be sure of finding a seat spent the night in queues before the entrances opened.

Last year, crowds briefly broke into chaos at one entrance and overwhelmed security staff. This time, the waiting crowds remained orderly. Visitors at the Bavaria monument were allowed onto the grounds at 9:07 a.m., while those at the main entrance entered at 9:11 a.m.

Those who secured a place then waited almost three hours for the first beer. Some visitors said they had already received beer while queuing in what they described as a “guerrilla operation” by Giesinger brewery, which would also like to be represented at the festival.

Krause pauses for memorial

Krause traditionally arrives with the Oktoberfest hosts in the Schottenhamel carriage. Police counted around 55,000 spectators along the route.

This time, Krause stopped the procession at the main entrance and joined Munich’s second and third mayors for a brief commemoration at the memorial to the victims of the Oktoberfest attack. The far-right attack in 1980 killed 12 people and injured more than 200 others.

A flawless tapping

The number of strokes needed to tap the first barrel has varied widely. Thomas Wimmer needed 17 strokes in 1950, while Krause’s experienced predecessors Dieter Reiter and Christian Ude managed it in two.

Krause struck twice quickly, accurately and firmly. Two seconds later, he declared the festival open with the traditional words, “O’zapft is!” He said he had drunk two half-beers the previous evening “to fall asleep” and followed an important tip: not to become overconfident and attempt the task with one stroke, because that would certainly go wrong.

Krause and Söder share a light moment

Bavarian Premier Markus Söder of the CSU attended the tapping in the Schottenhamel tent but stood in the second row. Before the ceremony, Krause said Söder had told him what could go wrong.

Söder told reporters that Krause would do a great job and later said that whether it took two or four strokes did not matter, adding that the result had been perfect. He also highlighted his good cooperation with the new Munich mayor, while clarifying that he was referring mainly to the upcoming decision on whether Munich will become Germany’s candidate city for the Olympics.

Routine work for emergency services

Police reported a relatively calm start despite the large crowds. The medical station mainly dealt with routine cases, including injuries from falls, cuts and circulation problems.

Almost four hours after the tapping, a 19-year-old became the first patient registered with alcohol poisoning. In the afternoon, a 25-year-old from Berlin broke his arm while arm wrestling and was taken to the acute treatment room.