The Oktoberfest Beer Festival will not take place in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This was announced on May 3 by the Prime Minister of Bavaria Markus Söder at a joint conference with the burgomaster of Munich. Writes about this agency dpa.
“We discussed what to do in light of the pandemic situation. We have agreed on general guidelines. The decision, of course, within the framework of the law on epidemiological protection, belongs to the local municipalities, but we were unanimous in our opinion that we recommend canceling the big public holidays this year, ”Zöder said.
He noted that at a festival like Oktoberfest, it is almost impossible to comply with anti-coronavirus restrictions, such as keeping distance and wearing masks.
The event was to take place in Munich from 18 September to 3 October. The international character of this festival became the reason for the organizers to decide to cancel it this year.
The cancellation of the festival will harm not only Bavarian beer companies and shops: Munich will also miss significant profits – the economic value of Oktoberfest in 2019 was € 1.23 billion.
Söder also canceled a beer festival in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Then it was reported that this is an economically difficult decision, since it was expected that the “Oktoberfest” will bring together up to 6 million people from all over the world.
For the first time, the beer festival took place on October 12, 1810 on the occasion of the wedding of Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Teresa. Subsequently, the festival was held almost annually. During the festival, guests spend over € 1 billion. This amount consists of proceeds from the sale of beer, snacks and souvenirs, hotel revenues and fees to taxi drivers. The festival is considered the largest folk festival in the world.