Beer flows as Germany kicks off OktoberfestEnlarge Photo
BERLIN (AP) — The world's largest beer festival
opened Saturday in Germany as Munich's mayor tapped the first keg to kick
off the 16-day Oktoberfest, known for its oompah music and traditional
costumes.
With only two blows of his hammer and a cry of "O'zapft is" — "It's Tapped" —
Mayor Christian Ude inserted the tap into the first keg, opening the 179th
Oktoberfest to the cheering of thousands who were waiting to be served their
first beer.
More than 6 million guests from around the
world are expected to descend on the beer tents of Munich to celebrate the 16-day
Oktoberfest extravaganza.
Last year's visitors consumed almost 8 million two-pint (one-liter) mugs of
beer. This year a mug, called "Mass" in German, of the malty pale beer made
exclusively by Munich's breweries sells at up to €9.50 ($12.30).
The Oktoberfest started with a wedding
party: Just over 200 years ago, Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig celebrated his
royal nuptials with a big public bash that was such a hit it became an annual
event. Nowadays, it is now known worldwide for its towering mugs of beer, oompah
music, men wearing traditional Bavarian Lederhosen leather shorts and women in
bright costumes.
While the core of the Oktoberfest remains
the same, with Dirndl-clad waitresses delivering steins, its flavor has evolved
over the years. A local festival with small beer gardens has mushroomed into a
major international event featuring about a dozen cavernous beer tents, some
seating about 10,000 singing, inebriated revelers at a time.
Last year, the Oktoberfest guests ate around 500,000 chickens, 120 oxen and
an unknown number of large doughy pretzels at the festival.
The fairgrounds of the "Wiesn," as
Oktoberfest is locally known, are spread out over about 75 acres (30 hectares)
and can accommodate hundreds of thousands of people at a time, and German
authorities keep security tight, although, they say, no concrete threat
exists.
"I want it to be a peaceful Wiesn, and that
the weather improves," Ude said.
Many tents were already full at midday,
German news agency dapd reported, but rain ensured that there was still enough
space in the outdoor beer gardens.
No comments:
Post a Comment