So far, 3.8 million guests have attended Oktoberfest

A great atmosphere and almost consistently beautiful weather

According to estimates by the festival organization, 3.8 million guests (2025: 3.5 million) will visit the Theresienwiese through Sunday. Visitor numbers for the Oide Wiesn will not be available until the closing press conference. Overall, the flow of visitors on the first weekend was slightly less intense than last year, but significantly more guests came during the week (Monday through Thursday +18.5 percent). This shows that our visitor management campaign “How to Wiesn”—which included an appeal to visit the Wiesn during the week—has been successful. Beer sales at the halfway point are slightly below last year’s level.
 

Essen und Trinken

Spokespersons for the small Oktoberfest tents and large Oktoberfest tents report a very festive atmosphere. Thanks to the beautiful weather, the beer gardens were very well attended, which in turn took some of the pressure off the festival tents. As a result, the festival tents only had to be closed occasionally during the first week. From Monday through Thursday, there were consistently empty seats in the festival tents. This gave guests the opportunity to move from tent to tent and take a stroll through the fairground area in between.
During their visits to the tents, guests appreciated the quality and thoroughly enjoyed the experience of eating and drinking at the Wiesn. Demand for vegetarian and vegan dishes saw a slight increase. Kässpatzen remain a perennial vegetarian favorite. Bratwurst and half a chicken remain the classics.
The Munich Brewers’ Association reports that consumption of festival beer has declined slightly (-1.4 percent). In contrast, consumption of non-alcoholic beer rose by 4.5 percent. New this year is the trend toward sour Radler. The partly summer-like temperatures boosted the appetite for wheat beer (+15 percent).

Attractions and Souvenirs

The mood of the festival-goers matched the mostly sunny weather. The diverse crowd, mostly dressed in their finest traditional outfits, strolled around the festival grounds happily, snacking on treats like caramelized almonds and trying out the various rides. The international visitors, in particular, were delighted to snap photos of everything that caught their eye with their cell phones. The first guests arrived at the Oidn Wiesn very early. Especially during the week, the grounds were bustling with children and their families, kindergarten groups, and school classes. Family Day was once again very well received.
A Heart for the Heart—Foreign guests, in particular, loved buying gingerbread hearts, both large and small. To help them choose the right one, the salespeople’s translation skills were put to the test—for example, with “Spatzl” meaning “Sweetheart” or “Fescher Bua” meaning “Bel ragazzo.” Pins were in high demand and people loved to pin them on right away, especially when they could use them to signal their relationship status: the edelweiss stands for “taken,” the pretzel for “single.” Fun hats weren’t bought as often as in previous years, possibly because they ruin a carefully chosen traditional outfit.
Caramelized almonds, chocolate-covered fruit, and gingerbread hearts remain among the top sellers at street stalls. When it comes to snacks, guests are willing to spend a little more if the quality is good.

A New Musical Act in the Festival Tents

A preliminary prediction is emerging for the Oktoberfest hit of the first week. The song “Gute Laune” by the music duo “GroßstadtEngel” seems to be the newcomer at the Oktoberfest.

From the Central Coordination Hub

All security authorities praise the guests’ composure and agree that the optimized security plan has proven effective. Security checks at the entrances are accepted without issue. Admission to the Oidn Wiesn was optimized during the first week of the festival.

• Crowd Spotters: The cameras on the grounds are operating reliably, as is the AI technology. Crowds formed only at the entrances to the Oidn Wiesn. These were dispersed through appropriate announcements.
• Security Services: The tent and fairground operators supervised by the VESD are reporting a positive initial assessment this year. Particularly noteworthy is the consistently friendly attitude of both local and international visitors toward the security personnel on duty. Member companies report very good and constructive cooperation with the organizer and the security authorities.
• Police: The police are very satisfied with how the Oktoberfest has gone so far. The majority of the 380 reported offenses were violations of the Narcotics Act (own report).
• First Aid Station: The Aicher Ambulance Service reports a slight increase in patient numbers, accompanied by a more even distribution of cases without any peak times. They praise the smooth cooperation with the fire department and the authorities, which proved particularly effective during operations at the “Hangover” and “Predator” rides. (own report)
• Fire Department: The fire department reports that this year’s Oktoberfest was very quiet, with fewer calls than in previous years. (own report)
• Youth Protection: The Youth Protection unit reports that it was a quiet week. The Youth Protection Unit recorded significantly fewer violations involving strollers (40) compared to last year (90) and found eight children (compared to 25 last year) under the age of six in beer gardens and tents after the permitted time. Some intoxicated teenagers were approached on the festival grounds to see if they needed assistance. However, they were all accompanied by adults and well taken care of.
• Beer Mug Theft: Security staff have collected approximately 52 000 beer mugs so far (2025: 59 000). The number of attempted thefts, at 105 000, remains below last year’s level (112 000).

Lost & Found

The lost and found office reports 40 percent fewer lost items than last year and had recorded 800 lost items as of Friday (2025: 1,750), including 300 items of clothing (-20 percent), 335 ID cards (+70 percent), 160 bank cards (-25 percent), 210 wallets (-15 percent), 105 keys (+61 percent), 75 bags, backpacks, and pouches (+30 percent), 135 cell phones/smartphones (+20 percent), 80 pairs of glasses (-27 percent), 45 pieces of jewelry (+50 percent), 20 hats (-55 percent), and 1 umbrella (-95 percent). So far, 260 lost items have been returned to their owners* (2025: 330). The most unusual item found so far is a large illustrated book about Tibet.
The move from the Central Coordination Hub to the Transportation Museum went smoothly. No lines formed in front of the entrance.

Impeccable Hygiene for Beverages and Food

The Department of Health reports a successful and incident-free first week of the festival. Drinking water hygiene, stein-rinsing hygiene, and cleanliness in public areas remain at a very high level. The number of visual inspections totaled approximately 213 individual checks. The objection rate was once again encouragingly low at around 12 percent, in line with previous years. The non-compliance rate for drinking vessels that had already been cleaned was zero percent out of 110 samples taken. The findings available so far from routine tests of the drinking water supplied via the drinking fountains are consistently deemed hygienically safe.

High Standards for Food

Food safety inspectors have issued a positive interim report on this year’s Oktoberfest. Inspections of the kitchens in all festival tents, including the Oidn Wiesn, were completed two days before the festival began and proceeded largely without incident. This year, the food safety inspection team is monitoring a total of 396 establishments on the festival grounds. To ensure impeccable operational, product, and personal hygiene, as well as proper labeling, unannounced inspections are conducted daily in the festival tents. These are supplemented by early-morning inspections, during which the proper delivery of goods, the cleanliness of vehicles, and strict adherence to the cold chain are verified.

The food establishments at Oktoberfest consistently maintain high hygiene standards. Isolated instances of minor deficiencies in operational and product hygiene or in internal quality control were promptly rectified by the operators in each case.

Energy and Water Consumption

As in 2025 the Oktoberfest is powered 100 percent by green electricity. The number of customers who actively purchase M-Ökostrom has remained at a high level of about 65 percent. Among the largest customers in the beer tents that actively purchase M-Ökostrom are the Marstall Festzelt, Ochsenbraterei, Bräurosl, Kufflers Weinzelt, Hackerfestzelt, Festhalle Schottenhamel, Löwenbräu Festzelt, Fischer Vroni, Käfer-Wiesn-Schänke, Paulaner Festzelt, and the Volkssängerzelt Schützenliesl. Of the many fairground operators, here are just a few examples: the Ferris wheel, Parcour, Alpinabahn, Flip Fly, Jules Verne Tower, Predator, Top Spin, Fünfer Looping, Skyfall, Hangover, and many others.

Through September 25 (seven days), this year’s Oktoberfest consumed 1,147,865 kWh. This represents a decrease of 3.71 percent compared to the same period in 2025. This is attributable to the significantly higher temperatures compared to the previous year. Average daily consumption was 163,981 kWh. 

The highest quarter-hourly power demand, at 11,471 kW, was recorded on September 24 at 7:15 p.m. A total of 817 (2025: 798, 2024: 792, 2023: 769, 2022: 773, 2019: 808) meters were put into operation for businesses and RVs.

This year, 44 gas systems are being supplied with natural gas from the Theresienwiese supply network. These include, once again, the garden heaters and nearly all large kitchens and barbecue facilities.

Current natural gas consumption after seven days totals approximately 57,500 m³ of cooking gas and 8,400 m³ of heating gas. By comparison, natural gas consumption has decreased by approximately 14 percent from 2025. This is due to some businesses gradually switching to electricity and the fact that the weather over the past four days has been warmer on average than in 2025. The Käfer-Wiesn-Schänke is the largest consumer of natural gas this year at the halfway point, with approximately 5,200 m³.

During the Oktoberfest setup phase from early July through the start of the Wiesn, approximately 18,000 m³ of drinking water was consumed. Water consumption during the first seven days of the Wiesn totaled approximately 34,700 cubic meters. Consumption is nearly identical to last year’s figures. A total of 530 connections (2025: 525 / 2024: 535) were established for tavern owners, carnival operators, food stalls, and public restrooms.

This year, ten drinking fountains are in operation at the restroom facilities. Since Oktoberfest 2025, all drinking fountains have been equipped with an automatic flushing system. After seven days, total consumption from the drinking fountains stands at 82.3 cubic meters, representing a 24 percent increase compared to 2025. The drinking fountain behind the Augustiner tent has the highest consumption at 14.8 m³. 

MVG and Deutsche Bahn

The Munich Transport Authority (MVG) and Deutsche Bahn report a smooth first week without any capacity issues. Many visitors traveled by S-Bahn and reached the festival grounds via the “Wiesn station” at Hackerbrücke or the main station. For the MVG, the Theresienwiese subway station remained by far the busiest arrival and departure point for Oktoberfest visitors.
Service proceeded calmly and almost seamlessly, thanks to the expanded transit offerings—as is customary for Oktoberfest—and the extensive deployment of staff. No notable incidents or accidents have been reported so far.
The access situation at the Theresienwiese subway station remains very satisfactory. Approximately 30 percent of passengers used the entrance or exit near St. Paul’s Church, while about 70 percent used the main entrance. Through Friday, September 25, no access restrictions were necessary at the entrances to the Theresienwiese and Goetheplatz subway stations. Passenger volume at the Goetheplatz subway station has so far been comparable to that of previous years. As in previous years, the Schwanthalerhöhe subway station has seen increased use by passengers this year as well.

Street Cleaning

Daily cleaning of the festival grounds has so far gone smoothly for the street cleaning crew. Even during the day, an electric vehicle and a small sweeper were able to be used on the festival grounds, as long as visitor traffic permitted.
Staff were also deployed in greater numbers at the entrance areas and surrounding areas (St. Paul’s Square). Significant amounts of trash accumulated here throughout the entire day of the event.
In addition, at the request of the festival management, the areas in front of the Bavaria statue and on Straße 6 were cleaned once or twice a day. As part of the overall cleaning of the festival streets, a total of approximately 38 tons of trash and litter was collected during the first week of the festival through Friday.
Following the cleanup of the festival grounds, the surrounding streets (up to the main station) were cleaned daily. Approximately 24 metric tons of trash were collected there.