Alcohol complicates mental-health emergencies at Oktoberfest

Alcohol is often involved when medical teams respond to psychological emergencies at Munich’s Oktoberfest folk festival, making it difficult to identify the causes of patients’ symptoms, BR24 reports. The festival’s medical service says reliable figures for mental-health emergencies are not available because symptoms often overlap.

In 2025, the medical service treated 7,158 people at the festival. About 39 percent of cases were alcohol-related, 34 percent involved surgical injuries and 26 percent were internal-medicine or other complaints. The last category includes conditions such as heart attacks and psychological emergencies.

Overcrowding and loud noise can overwhelm some people and trigger panic responses, an Aicher Ambulanz spokesperson said. Some may lash out because they feel threatened, others try to flee, while some become unresponsive or appear to be in shock.

Care is tailored to each person’s needs. In some cases, patients are taken to a quiet room at the medical station or receive support through conversation.

The medical team can also call in KiM, a crisis-intervention team affiliated with Aicher Ambulanz and staffed by responders from different organisations. It supports people after resuscitations or major incidents, among other situations. The team has assisted people affected by deaths at the festival, including witnesses to the fatal accident involving a security worker at the Hangover ride.

People experiencing psychological emergencies at the festival can receive help there. General support is also available from the Psychiatric Crisis Service of Upper Bavaria and Bavaria’s crisis services.