Oktoberfest Countdown

Oktoberfest is a 16-day Bavarian folk festival and funfair held in Munich, Germany, running from mid-September to the first Sunday of October. It welcomes millions of visitors each year with beer tents, fairground rides, traditional dress and hearty Bavarian food.

History

Oktoberfest began on 12 October 1810, when the citizens of Munich were invited to join the wedding celebrations of Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen. The festivities unfolded on open meadows just beyond the city gates, which were christened the Theresienwiese — Therese's Meadow — in the bride's honour, a name Münchners still shorten fondly to the Wiesn. A horse race brought the first celebration to a close, and its success prompted the people of Munich to gather again the very next year. From that repeated horse race the occasion steadily grew. An agricultural show was folded in from 1811 to showcase Bavarian farming, and through the nineteenth century the meadow filled with ever more elaborate attractions: small beer stands multiplied into the vast decorated tents recognised today, while carousels, swings and mechanical rides turned the grounds into a bustling funfair. To take advantage of milder, longer evenings, organisers gradually shifted the opening earlier into September, even as the festival kept its original autumn name — the reason Oktoberfest now begins in the ninth month. By the late nineteenth century the event had matured into the grand folk festival Munich knows today, drawing visitors from far beyond Bavaria. Cherished customs accumulated over time, among them the ceremonial tapping of the first keg by the city's mayor and the opening costume parade. In 2010 the festival marked its 200th anniversary with a dedicated historic ground, the Oide Wiesn, recreating old-fashioned rides and tents. Today Oktoberfest welcomes roughly six million guests each year and has inspired affectionate imitations on nearly every continent.

Meaning

For Munich and the wider land of Bavaria, Oktoberfest is a treasured expression of regional identity — a season when neighbours, families and visitors from around the world sit shoulder to shoulder at long communal tables. Traditional dress such as the dirndl and lederhosen, the brass-band folk music known as Blasmusik, and the shared toast of a raised stein all celebrate a living sense of Bavarian custom, hospitality and community spirit. Beyond its local roots, the festival has become a widely loved symbol of conviviality and good cheer. It marks the turning of the year toward autumn with warmth and togetherness, and its spirit has travelled far: countless towns and cities now hold their own autumn gatherings in its image, making the Munich original a byword for friendly celebration and welcome the world over.