A charming and peaceful Oktoberfest
(29.9.2024) In good weather, the visitors were spread out evenly in the tents, gardens and streets.The audience is colourful, families, couples, friends, young people and senior citizens.Tourists mingle with the locals, especially from the USA.But Italian, French and Spanish, Polish, Swiss German as well as British and Australian English could also be heard on the festival grounds. One thing unites them all: the Oktoberfest experience is only complete if you wear traditional costume.
3.6 million guests visited the Oktoberfest
Oktoberfest remains an absolute visitor magnet.According to estimates by the festival management, 3.6 million guests (2023: 3.4 million) came to the Theresienwiese up to and including Sunday. Of these, around 206,000 visitors were counted at the Oide Wiesn event (2023: 180,000).
Food and drink
As the small and large landlords report, traditional Bavarian cuisine is still in vogue. Guests appreciate quality and enjoy the experience of eating and drinking at the Wiesn. Price sensitivity is evident when it comes to skipping the last beer or dessert. Both the medium-sized establishments and the large tents report an increase of around 10 per cent in food. The ever-growing range of vegetarian and vegan dishes is in constant demand. The vegetarian favourite is also a classic: Kässpatzen. Beer consumption rose by around seven to eight per cent, but non-alcoholic drinks also sold very well.
Showmen satisfied, souvenirs in high demand
Street sales
Roasted almonds, chocolate fruits and gingerbread hearts are still part of the fun at the Volksfest. The smaller hearts are particularly popular. The vendors are very satisfied.
Showmanship
On the very first weekend, guests came to the Wiesn not only to look around, but also to ride the carousel. The family day was again very well received. Fortunately, the weather was friendlier than expected according to the weather forecast.
Souvenirs
Souvenir sales are going very well. This year's poster motif with the friendly smiling Münchner Kindl is very popular. American guests stock up on motif T-shirts to surprise friends and family back home. Traditional hats are very popular with men, while ladies are more likely to opt for flower headbands this year. The chicken hat is still a firm favourite. As soon as it starts to rain, the demand for ponchos and umbrellas increases.
The search for the Wiesn hit
No Wiesn hit has yet crystallised, perhaps its time has run out.There are now many hits that belong to the Wiesn and are played every year.This year, they are complemented by new additions such as ‘Major Tom’ or Taylor Swift's ‘Shake it off’, which have not yet outstripped the old songs such as ‘Sweet Caroline’, ‘Alice’ or ‘Hey Baby’.
The security authorities are delighted with the level-headed public
Police
The police are very satisfied with how the Oktoberfest has gone so far.They praise the relaxed atmosphere, the very reasonable guests and the good co-operation between all security forces as well as the cooperation with the Safe Space for Women.The number of offences has fallen significantly. The fire brigade also speaks of a quiet Oktoberfest without any particular incidents.
Ambulance station
The Aicher Ambulance also speaks of a quiet first half of the year, with around 11 per cent fewer patients than in the previous year (2024: 3,026). The stretchers had to be deployed 991 times, the lowest figure since 2018. The CT scanner was deployed nine times, with patients from outside the Theresienwiese also being brought in for examination.
Youth protection
Youth Protection reported a very quiet week and praised the exemplary display of youth protection regulations in the tents at Oktoberfest. The breastfeeding and nappy-changing room is very well frequented.
Further figures at half-time
Lost property office
By Sunday, the Wiesn lost property office had counted 1,515 items of lost property (2023: 1,200), including 335 items of clothing, 230 ID cards, 180 bank cards, 270 wallets, 65 keys, 70 bags, rucksacks, pouches, 150 mobile phones/smartphones, 170 pairs of glasses (+110 per cent), 30 pieces of jewellery and 15 umbrellas.So far, 330 lost property items have been returned to their owners (2023: 250). The most curious find so far was a designer high-heeled shoe, which has already been collected.
Stein theft and food inspections
Around 48,000 beer mugs have been collected by stewards so far (2023: 50,000). The food inspectorate checked 385 businesses. These are checked daily for perfect operational, product and personal hygiene as well as labelling. In the morning, the proper delivery of goods (functional refrigeration or cleanliness) is checked. The KVR is pleased that a very high standard of hygiene has been established at the Wiesn.
TÜV
Despite the tragic accident at the Olympic loop and the associated delays, the assembly of the tents, stalls and rides and the necessary safety inspections were completed within the planned timeframe this year.From a technical safety point of view, the Wiesn has so far been calm and uneventful.
Health Department
The Health Department is very satisfied with drinking water hygiene, jug flushing hygiene and cleanliness in public areas. The water checked daily at the drinking water fountains is flawless.
Energy and water
As in 2023, the Oktoberfest is supplied with 100 per cent green electricity. The number of customers who also actively purchase M-Ökostrom has remained at the high level of around 65 per cent. Up to and including 27 September 2024, 1,096,646 kWh of electricity was consumed. This corresponds to an increase of 5.34 per cent compared to the previous year. This is due to the cooler temperatures and various conversion campaigns. The average daily consumption was 156,039 kWh.
This year, 55 gas systems are being supplied with natural gas from the Theresienwiese supply network. These are the garden heaters and almost all the large kitchens and barbecue facilities. Only the Münchner Stubn will do without gas completely, as in 2023. In the first seven days, 61,000 cubic metres of gas were consumed, of which 3,055 cubic metres were heating gas. Overall, this is around 2.2 per cent less than in 2023. This is partly due to more efficient appliances in use and partly to the switch to electricity.
Water consumption in the first 7 days of the Wiesn was around 34,900 cubic metres. That is around 2,300 cubic metres more than at the Wiesn 2023. 290 water samples were taken from hydrants, manholes and taps by 10 July. All were tested with negative results. Consumption at the drinking fountain was 42 cubic metres in the first seven days.
Munich waste management company
By the halfway point, the waste management company (AWM) had disposed of 429 tonnes of waste, 30 percent more than in the previous year.Since this year, AWM has also taken over the disposal of mixed broken glass.The corresponding containers are emptied daily into a 35 square metre container, which had not yet had to be emptied by Saturday, 28 September.AWM is very satisfied with the waste separation.This year's new offer of being able to dispose of mixed glass waste has been very well received by publicans. Building department - street cleaning The daily cleaning of the festival site has so far gone without a hitch for the street cleaning team.An electric vehicle and a small sweeper were also used on the festival site during the day, as far as the flow of visitors allowed.In the first week up to and including Friday, a total of around 28 tonnes of rubbish and rubbish deposits were produced as part of the overall cleaning of the festival streets (2023: 22 tonnes).
MVG
MVG is reporting a decline in passenger numbers, which may be due to the dry weather and will change in rainy weather.There was a larger influx at Theresienwiese station.There were 11 temporary closures during evening departures (2023: 32).
