For the second time in a row, Oktoberfest has to be canceled due to the pandemic. Despite the vaccination campaign – the risk of infection would be too great.
Munich (dpa) – The Oktoberfest will not take place this year due to the corona pandemic.
The German Press Agency learned this on Monday from an internal meeting on further planning, in which Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) and Munich’s Lord Mayor Dieter Reiter (SPD) took part. This was also reported by the “Bild” newspaper.
Söder and Reiter had recently been skeptical as to whether the Oktoberfest could take place. The Oktoberfest is not just a Bavarian festival, but a global event, said Söder recently.
The Wiesn 2021 should take place from September 18th to October 3rd. Around six million visitors from all over the world came to the world’s largest folk festival in previous years. Even if many people could be vaccinated by the planned start: In Corona times, the risk of infection at the festival with beer tents often filled to the last seat and the crowd in the alleys would be too great.
The renewed cancellation not only affects landlords, showmen and stallholders at the festival itself, but also hotels, restaurants, taxi drivers and retailers. According to the city, the Oktoberfest 2019 had an economic value of around 1.23 billion euros.
An online survey by the opinion research institute Civey with 5002 participants on behalf of the “Augsburger Allgemeine” on Saturday showed that a large majority were in favor of canceling the Oktoberfest. The assessment of the Bavarian citizens did not differ from the majority opinion outside the Bavarian borders: 69 percent were in favor of a rejection, only 21 percent were in favor of allowing the Wiesn to take place again this autumn. The rest were undecided.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210503-99-450233 / 3
Canceled Oktoberfest according to the city of Munich
