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Oktoberfest visitors in front of a rainy sky (on September 26th)
Photo:
Felix Hörhager / dpa
Fewer visitors, less beer, but instead mulled wine and a relaxed atmosphere.
In the wet and cold, around 5.7 million visitors came to the first Oktoberfest after a two-year Corona break, according to the festival management.
It was more than half a million fewer than at the last Wiesn before the pandemic in 2019. At that time, 6.3 million celebrated at the Munich festival.
The weather was the main obstacle, said festival manager Clemens Baumgärtner (CSU) at the end of the event on Monday.
He spoke of the worst Oktoberfest weather in 20 years.
Nevertheless, the festival attracted a relaxed, cheerful and young audience.
“The Wiesn is back.” He didn’t see Corona, money worries or the war in Ukraine as the primary reasons for the decline in visitors.
As expected, the corona incidence in Munich rose sharply during the festival.
On October 1, it stood at 834.3, representing 12,412 new cases reported in the past seven days.
For comparison, according to the RKI, the nationwide seven-day incidence is currently 466 cases per 100,000 people, the Bavarian 655.
Fewer guests also drank less beer: 5.6 million liters were served (2019: 7.3 million liters).
Because of the weather, the festival management had allowed mulled wine to be served, but it was only moderately popular.
The showmen in particular suffered – only a few guests got on the rides in the pouring rain.
Increase in pickpocketing
Gas, electricity and water consumption fell.
The police, fire brigade and medical service reported a quiet Wiesn with fewer deployments in many areas.
The Oktoberfest medical station recorded around 27 percent fewer calls and was even able to take in other patients who could not find accommodation in clinics.
Mobile computed tomography was used for the first time on the festival grounds.
For example, doctors should decide on site whether a laceration can still be treated on site or whether admission to a hospital is necessary.
The police spoke of a peaceful process.
However, the increase in pickpocketing by around 50 percent is worrying.
The festival was more Munich and younger: More guests than usual came from the Munich area, and they were younger on average.
This was also shown by the evaluation of anonymized and aggregated data from the mobile phone provider O2 Telefonica.
The controversial party song "Layla" became the Wiesnhit 2022. It remains the case that the song by DJ Robin & Schürze was played most often, only topped by the long-running favorite "Ein Prosit derGemütlichkeit", said Baumgärtner.
wbr/dpa
