For fear of another Corona cancellation: Oktoberfest 2022 before historical innovation?

"To seriously consider"

Created: 01/04/2022, 4:11 PM

From: Lucas Sauter-Orengo

Visitors toast the Oktoberfest with beer mugs.

© Matthias Balk / dpa / symbol image

Corona has Munich, Bavaria and Germany firmly under control.

But what about the Oktoberfest this year?

A historical innovation is now being put to the test.

Munich - The number of cases is increasing, Omikron is the dominant topic.

Mass events are currently out of the question, and large numbers of people seem impossible in the foreseeable future.

But the debates around Oktoberfest 2022 are already beginning. A cancellation would mean the third in a row.

A completely new, and therefore historical, innovation that is supposed to secure the Oktoberfest is now being discussed - and it does not seem to be completely ruled out.

Corona: Oktoberfest again before cancellation?

Aiwanger thinks a new option is conceivable

The city of Munich is considering bringing the Oktoberfest forward to prevent it from being canceled again due to the pandemic.

The economic advisor and Wiesn boss Clemens Baumgärtner said on Tuesday that a working group of the city council groups would meet in the coming week to sound out the arguments.

He will then make a recommendation.

Bavaria's Minister of Economic Affairs, Hubert Aiwanger, told the

that the Corona situation was much more relaxed in summer.

Munich: Oktoberfest ahead of historic innovation?

Corona brings options into play

"It is therefore seriously to consider moving parties with larger gatherings more into the summer." Wiesn boss Baumgärtner told the German press agency: "For me personally, an Oktoberfest in July is hardly conceivable.

And the summer holidays in Bavaria are in August. ”Breweries, innkeepers, showmen and the police would then have to make completely new arrangements.

The spokesman for the Oktoberfest hosts, Peter Inselkammer, would prefer an Oktoberfest on the actually planned date from September 17 to October 3, with access only for those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered.

Corona: Oktoberfest in Munich facing historical change?

The decision is to be made in May

"Already by tradition - it's called Oktoberfest," he told the

. But if an earlier appointment made sense because of the pandemic, it could be discussed. The erection of the tents usually starts in mid-July. "It's enough if the decision is made in May," said the landlord's spokesman. But a decision six weeks in advance is not enough. Ultimately, Lord Mayor Dieter Reiter and Prime Minister Markus Söder will decide on the date. In the Infection Protection Ordinance, the Free State determines whether folk festivals are allowed to take place.

In 2020 and 2021 they were canceled in May.

Before that, the world's largest folk festival, with six million visitors, brought the economy an annual turnover of 1.2 billion euros.

The guests spent a good half a billion euros on overnight stays alone.

Almost half a billion stayed in the marquees and rides.

Whether a safe Oktoberfest with 2G rules can take place in September 2022 "has to be reevaluated in April or May," said Baumgärtner.

Reiter told the

"When the Oktoberfest takes place, there will be no isolation or gaps in the tents, so you can definitely get that Oktoberfest feeling."