The weather forecast is good, and the pandemic is still just a fading memory. The weaning has begun - this Saturday at the Oktoberfest in Munich, they will open the first barrel of beer.
"We hope for better weather than last year," said Munich Mayor Dieter Reiter while visiting the "meadows", the large open space of Teresija Poljani where the festival is traditionally held.
Oktoberfest attracted about 5,7 million people last year, which is still less than in 2019, when there were more than six million.
In the next two pandemic years, there was no festival.
Oktoberfest manager Klemens Baumgertner is hoping for a successful year, although no records are being aimed for. The festival will now last 18 days, two days longer than usual, and will extend until October 3, the Day of German Unity.
The official start was announced for noon on September 16, when Mayor Reiter will open the first keg of beer with the traditional exclamation "Ocapf is", and then give the first pint to Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Zeder.
Political connotations are mostly irrelevant to numerous foreign guests.
Namely, the mayor of Munich has been from the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) for decades, while the post of Bavarian prime minister has also been "reserved" for decades for someone from the Christian Democratic CSU.
However, during Oktoberfest, politics remain on the sidelines, even though Bavaria is already facing provincial elections on October 8.
"Oktoberfest is not a political arena," Baumgertner stressed.
And Reiter says that all official events at Oktoberfest adhere to that rule, although he does not rule out that politics is also a topic of conversation at the table with a pint of beer.
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