Facts and figures: The Oktoberfest review 2019

6.3 million visitors at the Oktoberfest

Even though the weather this year was more changeable than at the Wiesn 2018, the super figures of the previous year could once again be reached: According to estimates by the festival management, 6.3 million guests (2018: 6.3 million) came to the Oktoberfest.

The Oide Wiesn experienced an increase: the total number of visitors included around 550,000 Oide Wiesn visitors, compared with 50,000 fewer in the previous year. No Oide Wiesn will take place in 2020 because of the Central Agricultural Festival.

Guests from all over the world - USA tops the list

The Oktoberfest once again lived up to its reputation as the largest folk festival in the world: guests from the following countries were in the top 10 visitor countries: USA, Great Britain, France, Austria, Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, Australia, Sweden and Denmark.

In addition, visitors from a further 45 nations came to the Festival of Festivals: Argentina, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, China, Ecuador, Finland, Hong Kong, India, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands Antilles, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, South Korea, Czech Republic, Turkey, Hungary, United Arab Emirates and Cyprus.

The summary of the police headquarters Munich

Police spokesman Marcus da Gloria Martins sums it up: "We have seen a decrease in crime, but at the same time an increase in deployments. The decrease in the number of crimes is estimated at 914, with 6.3 million guests. We have had more controls and a significant decrease in pickpockets. 133 offences were recorded, compared with 174 in the previous year. There was a very slight increase in the number of large-scale pugilism cases, eight more than in the previous year. Unfortunately, we also have a slight increase in sexual offences, from 42 to 45 offences."

The summary of the fire brigade

The fire brigade also reported a positive result for the Oktoberfest. The fire security guard was alerted 14 times - last year it was 21 times. Most of the missions were technical assistance, but once a T-shirt had to be extinguished which had landed on a spotlight and caught fire. A Oktoberfest visitor who had climbed onto the canopy of a tent also kept the emergency services busy. The rescue service, which was also coordinated by the Munich control center, responded to a total of 2852 medical emergencies - around 200 more than in the previous year. By the way, the Munich fire brigade is not resting at all after the end of the Wiesn, but is already getting involved in the planning for the Oktoberfest 2020.

Slight decline in Oktoberfest beer

The Oktoberfest guests drank a total of 7.3 million litres of beer this year, according to the balance sheet of the breweries, which, like the innkeepers, showed themselves to be "very satisfied" with the size of the event0 . In 2018 the figure was 7.5 million, i.e. a little more. But this year there was a new drink: "Saures Radler" - the innkeepers registered increased demand for cyclists with mineral water instead of lemonade.

The stewards took 96,912 beer mugs (2018: 101,000) from souvenir hunters in the tents and at the exits of the festival grounds.

The summary of the medical watch

Ulrike Krivec, Press Officer: "We have examined 6392 sick people. This is around 800 more than last year, but this is due to the increasing awareness of the Wiesn Outpatient Clinic. The severe alcohol poisoning has been reversed. Of these, we recorded around 600 cases, 120 fewer than last year. We treated a total of 3120 patients in the medical watch. Unfortunately, there were also seven attacks on paramedics, including three women. Two paramedics were bitten by a patient. The patient then apologized the next day - she was terribly embarrassed!

Curiosities from the Lost and Found Office: Dentures, Wedding Ring, Flugelhorn

The Wiesn lost and found office counted around 3,800 finds by the end of the year, including 780 ID cards, 690 items of clothing, 660 purses, 465 bank cards, 420 smartphones and mobile phones, 300 keys, 155 glasses, 130 bags, backpacks and bags, 115 umbrellas, 55 pieces of jewellery and eight cameras.

As curiosities were delivered during the second Wiesn week: A set of teeth, a pram, a UN card game, a measuring cup, a kitchen sieve, a wedding ring, a flugelhorn, the book "Dalí - the picturesque work" (in its original packaging) and 635.60 euros in cash.

Children, families and senior citizens in the centre of Wiesn

"An excellent Wiesn with a lot of family audience", according to the festival management, is the fazut of the showmen. There were long queues not only before the novelties, but also before classics such as the devil's wheel and chain planes.

It was a real "Kinderwiesn", the festival management stated: The children's rides were booming, the guided tours of the meadow for school classes and preschool children were completely booked out. The "Wiesn Stammtisch für Seniorinnen und Senioren", initiated by the Seniors' Advisory Board of the City of Munich in cooperation with the small Wiesnwirten, enjoyed increasing popularity among the 60 plus generation.

No Wiesnhit this year

Successor of Cordula Grün, the Wiesnhit 2018? Nobody. "The Oktoberfest 2019 has no new Wiesnhit", the festival management states in its final report. The editors of oktloberfest.de also came to this conclusion in their large survey of untzer visitors and bandleaders: "There were and are many hits, but not one single dominant song. Oldies but Goldies!

Less electricity and gas consumed

The electricity consumption of 2.84 million kilowatt hours is about 3.34 percent below the consumption of the Wiesn of 2018. The highest daily peak was measured on Thursday, October 3 with 13,318 kilowatt at 7.15 pm.

The water consumption of around 105,000 cubic metres is pretty much the same as in 2018. The highest daily consumption was measured on the middle Saturday at 6,120 cubic metres. At 185,000 cubic metres, gas consumption is around 3.1 percent lower than in 2018. Heating gas consumption has fallen by around 13 percent due to warmer temperatures, while cooking gas consumption has remained virtually unchanged.

All photos on this page: Anette Göttlicher