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Three punches, then the foam flowed: Munich's Mayor Reiter opened the Wiesn
Photo: Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images
The first barrel is open: Mayor Dieter Reiter (SPD) opened the Wiesn on Saturday.
He tapped the first keg of beer in three taps.
Three hours before the official opening, thousands of people had already come to the festival site.
The site on the Theresienwiese opened shortly after nine o'clock on Saturday. Then many who had been waiting in long queues since dawn rushed off to get a seat in the beer tent.
The thirst is great: in 2020 and 2021 the Oktoberfest was canceled due to the pandemic.
There are no corona requirements this year.
The measure costs between 12.60 euros and 13.80 euros.
Compared to the last Wiesn in 2019, that's an average of 15.77 percent more.
In 2019, a liter of beer cost between 10.80 and 11.80 euros.
Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder said that the number of infections should increase because of the festival.
"At the same time, fortunately, we are not measuring any excessive burden on the hospitals," the "Münchner Merkur" newspaper quoted him as saying.
You are in a new corona phase.
"But watch out"
Federal Health Minister Karl-Lauterbach called for caution at the start of the Oktoberfest in Munich.
"I don't want to be a spoilsport: But anyone who visits the Wiesn should still be careful." He advises those who are already ill not to visit, everyone else should have themselves tested before visiting the tent.
However, it is justifiable to let the festival take place again.
"The willingness to vaccinate, the understanding of the measures, the caution of the population make it possible." According to his ministry, Lauterbach himself has turned down an invitation to the Oktoberfest.
jpz/dpa/AFP
