After a good two weeks, the “picture book Wiesn”, as Mayor Dominik Krause calls it, is over. Now there are only 349 days until the next Oktoberfest.
All developments in the live blog
In addition to our own research, we use material from the dpa news agency for this live blog.
Important updates
It's over!
Firecracker shooting incident: shot goes forward
Munich Mayor Dominik Krause is thrilled
Oktoberfest 2026 sets visitor records
Serious accidents at Oktoberfest: An overview
It's over!
16 days of Oktoberfest madness are now actually over. In the tents, the guests, but also the hosts, the kitchens and waitresses celebrate that it's over. Because, as the saying goes: It's over and over, and it's a shame that it's true. But don't worry, in 349 days it will be said again: Ozapft is! In any case, the mayor, who will probably proclaim this legendary sentence again, is currently celebrating the finale in the Bräurosl: Dominik Krause. The madness is also duly celebrated in all the other tents, for example in the Marstall festival tent with the Bavarian anthem.
Jacqueline Long
One last evening at the Oktoberfest
Sunday evening. That means: One last time - at least this year - things can go well at the Oktoberfest. And the people actually don't seem to have had enough: It's nowhere near as full as yesterday, Saturday, but the area is once again well attended - and is starting the finale with great strides.
Photo: Jacqueline Lang
Firecracker shooting incident: shot goes forward
During the firecracker shooting at the end of the Oktoberfest, a shot was accidentally fired. A video shows how the shooters below the Bavaria shoot forward instead of upward.
There was a missed shot, Commander Werner Waschbichler confirmed to the dpa. “Due to the specified safety distances, nothing happened.” It is not yet clear how the incident occurred. The district administration department will now investigate this.
The firecracker shooting is a traditional part of Oktoberfest. Around 60 shooters in Bavarian costume gather on the steps below the Bavaria. The festival ends with gun salutes, black powder and white smoke. There is also brass music. At the end the Bavarian anthem is sung; Afterwards, the winners of the Oktoberfest state shooting competition held in the Schützen-Festzelt during the Oktoberfest will be honored.
Ritual on the last day of Wiesn: firecrackers on the steps below the Bavaria. Photo: Johannes Simon
Three people injured by gas
Three Oktoberfest visitors were injured in an attack with gas on Saturday evening at the exit of the Augustiner tent. At around 10:45 p.m., verbal arguments broke out in a large crowd as they left the tent.
During the argument, a previously unknown man pulled out a pistol-like object and aimed it in the direction of a 38-year-old from Ostallgäu. Gas then began to leak from the pistol-like object. As a result, the 38-year-old and two security employees who were standing in the immediate vicinity were slightly injured and had to be treated by the emergency services.
An immediate search for the perpetrator has so far been unsuccessful. An investigation into grievous bodily harm was initiated.
The police are looking for witnesses. The perpetrator was around 25 years old, 1.65 to 1.70 meters tall, spoke standard German and had a South Asian appearance. He was wearing black clothing at the time of the crime and had noticeably crooked teeth.
Munich Mayor Dominik Krause is thrilled
"What a picture-perfect Oktoberfest! Peaceful, relaxed and in a good mood," he says, according to the city. The 2026 Oktoberfest was one of the most beautiful so far. The new security concept has also proven itself: Despite the record number of visitors, there were no critical overcrowding situations. “Thank you to everyone who made the Oktoberfest possible with their contribution, especially the blue light organizations and the festival management around Wiesn boss Christian Scharpf,” said the Mayor.
Mayor Dominik Krause (Greens) conducts a brass band Photo: Johannes Simon
Oktoberfest 2026 sets visitor records
A record for the Oktoberfest: According to the city, 7.4 million people attended the Munich Oktoberfest this year. That's more than ever before. The previous record was 7.2 million visitors in 2023. “This makes the 2026 Oktoberfest the most visited in its long history,” said Oktoberfest boss Christian Scharpf (SPD).
The crowds flocked, as did the beer: according to the city, 6.7 million pints of beer were drunk. That is 2.7 percent more than in 2025 (6.5 million). When it comes to food, Oktoberfest hosts reported an increase of two to three percent. The “classic Hendl is on the rise again”. Of the 7.4 million visitors, 447,000 were also guests at the Oidn Wiesn.
Photo: Johannes Simon
Nazi slogans in the Bräurosl and in front of the Ochsenbraterei
Two men got into trouble on Saturday for subversive crimes. At around 10:25 p.m., a 44-year-old German from Oberallgäu shouted the forbidden slogans “Heil Hitler” and “Sieg Heil” several times in the Bräurosl and gave the Hitler salute. Party guests notified the security service, who then informed the police. The 44-year-old was arrested and taken to the Wiesnwache. After the identification measure, he was expelled from the festival grounds.
A little later, a 28-year-old German from Lower Saxony did the same in front of the Ochsenbraterei and also shouted the forbidden slogans. He was also arrested by the police. Both men are under investigation.
Dispute in front of the Skylift escalates
During an argument in front of the Skylift on Saturday evening, a 33-year-old Ethiopian injured a 29-year-old - also with Ethiopian citizenship. The argument broke out around 10:30 p.m., as a result of which the 33-year-old hit the 29-year-old on the head with a wine bottle. He suffered a heavily bleeding head laceration and had to receive medical care.
The attacker is known to the police and was already in custody. This is one of the reasons why he was immediately taken to the police headquarters detention center after the crime. He is facing charges of grievous bodily harm.
It is not yet known where he got the wine bottle from. There is a ban on glass bottles on the festival grounds.
Oktoberfest visitor injures paramedics
A heavily intoxicated woman injured a paramedic with a kick in the genital area. At around 3 p.m. on Saturday, the 22-year-old Swiss woman brought a friend to the rescue service tent because she needed medical support. The Swiss woman then left the emergency services area, but returned shortly afterwards and wanted to go back to the treatment room with her companion.
The staff explained to the woman multiple times that this was not possible; She then physically attacked a 60-year-old paramedic from the Munich district and kicked him in the genital area with her knee. The man was slightly injured. The woman also became verbally abusive and showed both middle fingers.
She was temporarily arrested after the incident and taken to the Wiesnwache; After submitting a security deposit in the mid-four-figure range, she was released. An alcohol test showed a level of around 1.6 per mille.
Serious accidents at Oktoberfest: An overview
The industrial accident on the swing ship at the Oidn Wiesn on the final day, in which a 47-year-old was seriously injured, was not the first accident at this year's Oktoberfest. During the first week of the festival, a 52-year-old ride employee was trapped under a gondola at the Freefall Tower and fatally injured.
The misfortune of a 90-year-old visitor who wanted to pet a carriage horse in the area of the Oidn Wiesn also ended fatally: the woman's wheelchair got caught in the horse's harness, causing the senior citizen to fall. She died in hospital a few days later - as it only became known after some delay.
There were two deaths and numerous injuries in a serious traffic accident on Autobahn 96 in Ostallgäu over the middle weekend. There, a tour bus with a group of 33 people left the road without any other vehicles involved and overturned. The group was on its way from Milan to Oktoberfest. The casualties were Filipino citizens residing in Italy.
In the past, some serious accidents have also occurred at the Oktoberfest: in 2024, a 20-year-old was hit by a train during a test drive on the Olympic Loop and died. In 2023, a 50-year-old fell from a height of around five meters during the dismantling of the festival and suffered life-threatening injuries, and on the first day of the Oktoberfest, nine passengers were injured in a collision between two roller coaster cars. In 2019, a two-year-old fell off a carousel and broke both of his legs.
September 21st: Rescue workers and police officers at the Freefall Tower after an employee fell under a gondola. Photo: Felix Hörhager/dpa
Firecracker shots seal the 191st Oktoberfest
The state riflemen are honored at the traditional firecracker shooting on the last Sunday afternoon. This time this is happening in the presence of, among others, Mayor Dominik Krause, the Bavarian Minister of Economic Affairs Hubert Aiwanger and Duke Franz of Bavaria. For the latter, the Herzog Franz March will also be played before the shots ring out that seal this year's Oktoberfest.
Jacqueline Long
Firecracker shooting in front of the Bavaria. . John Simon
Serious industrial accident on a ship's swing
There was a serious industrial accident at the swing ship at the Oidn Wiesn. An employee is said to have injured himself so seriously at 10:15 a.m. that intensive medical resuscitation was necessary. The 47-year-old man is now in hospital, but Johann Petryszak from the fire department was unable to provide any further information about his condition.
According to the police, there was still no new information about how the injured person was doing in the afternoon. During the accident, he was hit in the cervical spine area by a ship's swing, said Julian Tanzer from the Aicher Ambulance at the Oktoberfest. According to him, several rescue workers were with the injured person about two minutes after the accident to treat him.
As Thomas Schelshorn from the police also reported, the ride was said to have been in operation when the accident occurred. Apparently the victim was in a cordoned off area where he should not have been. According to Schelshorn, witnesses to the accident are being looked after by the crisis intervention team.
Operations on the ship's swing were stopped. The police cordoned off the ride.
Temporarily closed: the swing ship at Oktoberfest. Felix Hörhager/dpa
Shooters are getting ready for their big appearance
It won't start for another half an hour, but the first onlookers are already in position behind the barrier below the Bavaria and the firecrackers are already arriving with the marching band to get into position. At exactly 12 o'clock they fire their shots.
Jacqueline Long
Innkeepers around the Oktoberfest are satisfied
Before taking stock of the official Oktoberfest at midday, the 47 innkeepers from downtown Munich announced how they thought the “Wirtshauswiesn” went this year. The offer has been available since 2020, when Oktoberfest was canceled due to the corona pandemic.
This year a record number of visitors was registered: 1.65 million guests were recorded at the participating inns. 2.35 million beers were served - although the Wirtshauswiesn is not counted in steins, but in halves; so 0.5 liter jars.
The peak day was the middle Saturday of the Oktoberfest on the so-called “Italian weekend”, when things are often crowded on the Theresienwiese. A trend can be seen at the Wirtshauswiesn: There is more demand for non-alcoholic beer. In the Augustiner taverns, the proportion of non-alcoholic beer in the beer served was around ten percent.
The Oktoberfest could break its own visitor record
Will this year's Oktoberfest set a new visitor record? At halftime, 3.8 million people had already visited the folk festival on Theresienwiese - 300,000 more than the year before and even 400,000 more than in the previous record year of 2023. At that time, 7.2 people visited the largest folk festival in the world.
Wiesn boss Christian Scharpf will announce at lunchtime whether this previous record will actually be exceeded this year.
