Usually the big concern ahead of the Oktoberfest, Munich’s annual drink-in that starts on Saturday, is the price of a Mass – a litre of beer.
But even the outrage over this year’s €10.70 record price at the 183rd fest has paled next to concerns over security.
When Munich mayor Dieter Reiter hammers open the first keg of beer at noon, festival tent-owners will be watching the crowds on their beer benches.
Last year, they welcomed almost six million guests who downed 7.5 million litres of beer over 17 days.
However, a series of violent attacks in Bavaria in August, two claimed by Islamic State, has seen extra security measures introduced.
For the first time, a fence will surround the 30-hectare “Wiesn” – a sprawling site as large as 68 soccer pitches.
Rucksacks and large bags will be banned, visitors will have to pass through security controls, and multiple video cameras have been installed to monitor the site.
Police patrols
Some 450 security officials will guard the entrances, while 650 police will patrol the festival site and neighbourhood.
Munich’s deputy police chief Werner Feiler said there was a “high abstract danger” but that authorities were not aware of any concrete threat.
“Go out, have fun but please stick to the usual rules,” said Mr Feiler.
Bavarian interior minister Joachim Hermann agreed, saying a visitor was more likely to be killed by a drunk driver than an Isis terrorist at the Oktoberfest.
“But it’s clear such an internationally known festival would naturally be a possible attack target,” he added.
Such fears are not unfounded: in 1980 a nail bomb exploded in a bin near the main entrance, killing 12 festival goers and injuring 211.
August’s attacks claimed by Isis in Bavaria – a bomb explosion and an axe attack – saw only the perpetrators die. But Munich was shaken by a shooting rampage at a city shopping centre when a teenage gunman shot dead nine shoppers before killing himself.
Peaceful expectations
Locals are hoping for a peaceful festival with only the usual problems: hordes of drunks peeing in their gardens and/or falling asleep on the trains.
The festival was first held in Munich in 1810, to celebrate the wedding of Bavaria’s King Ludwig to his bride, Therese.
In August, Munich city announced plans to register the Oktoberfest as a protected trademark, and to collect fees and impose minimum standards from anyone who wishes to hold their own.
