"O'zapft ist" - Bavaria's Oktoberfest Kicks off
- 13 years ago
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The world's largest, rowdiest and most famous beer festival, the annual Oktoberfest, opens in Munich for the 178th time. Despite higher beer prices, some 6 million visitors are expected to attend and drink millions of pints of beer.
The annual Oktoberfest beer festival opened with the traditional scream of "O'zapft is!" (it's tapped) for the 178th time in Germany on Saturday.
Tens of thousands of visitors from across the world made their way to the opening in Munich.
Organisers say they expect up to six million people during the 17-day event which boasts 95 different beer stands in 14 large tents with a total capacity of 105,000 seats.
Visitors to the grounds known as "Wiesn" each year consume millions of pints of beer and hundreds of thousands of sausages.
The pleasure fest is kicked off with a procession of the innkeepers who are brought to the tents in horse drawn wagons.
Once the innkeepers have arrived the doors are thrown open and beer lovers flood in to take a seat at the hall's long tables.
Brass bands whet the appetite and finally as the city's mayor hammers open the beer tap, with the yell: "It's tapped" the drinking can begin.
Although many visitors come from abroad, Oktoberfest is a highlight for many Bavarians who turn out in traditional lederhosen and low-cut "dirndl" dresses.
Bavaria's state premier Horst Seehofer said the Oktoberfest is all about the moment.
[Horst Seehofer, Bavarian State Premier]:
"It's being with all the people. Its the atmosphere, the food, the beer, the brass bands and from now until October 3rd, everything takes second place!!"
Beer drinkers will have to dig slightly deeper into their lederhosen pockets this year as the price of beer has gone up.
But say the revelers, while cheaper is better, it is just the way it is.
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The world's largest, rowdiest and most famous beer festival, the annual Oktoberfest, opens in Munich for the 178th time. Despite higher beer prices, some 6 million visitors are expected to attend and drink millions of pints of beer.
The annual Oktoberfest beer festival opened with the traditional scream of "O'zapft is!" (it's tapped) for the 178th time in Germany on Saturday.
Tens of thousands of visitors from across the world made their way to the opening in Munich.
Organisers say they expect up to six million people during the 17-day event which boasts 95 different beer stands in 14 large tents with a total capacity of 105,000 seats.
Visitors to the grounds known as "Wiesn" each year consume millions of pints of beer and hundreds of thousands of sausages.
The pleasure fest is kicked off with a procession of the innkeepers who are brought to the tents in horse drawn wagons.
Once the innkeepers have arrived the doors are thrown open and beer lovers flood in to take a seat at the hall's long tables.
Brass bands whet the appetite and finally as the city's mayor hammers open the beer tap, with the yell: "It's tapped" the drinking can begin.
Although many visitors come from abroad, Oktoberfest is a highlight for many Bavarians who turn out in traditional lederhosen and low-cut "dirndl" dresses.
Bavaria's state premier Horst Seehofer said the Oktoberfest is all about the moment.
[Horst Seehofer, Bavarian State Premier]:
"It's being with all the people. Its the atmosphere, the food, the beer, the brass bands and from now until October 3rd, everything takes second place!!"
Beer drinkers will have to dig slightly deeper into their lederhosen pockets this year as the price of beer has gone up.
But say the revelers, while cheaper is better, it is just the way it is.