Oktoberfest 2026: Record visitor numbers and tragic incidents

Now it's official: Oktoberfest 2026 is the record Oktoberfest. The city of Munich has 7.4 million visitors - more than ever before. “This makes the 2026 Oktoberfest the most visited in its long history,” says the head of the festival, Munich economics officer Christian Scharpf (SPD). The previous record of 7.2 million visitors in 2023 was broken.

“What a picture-perfect Oktoberfest,” says Dominik Krause (Greens) about his first Oktoberfest as Munich’s mayor. «Peaceful, relaxed and in a good mood. The 2026 Oktoberfest was one of the most beautiful of all time.”

The new security concept has also proven itself: “Despite the record number of visitors, there were no critical overcrowding situations.” The sharpened security concept and the attempt to redirect guests to weekdays were a complete success, says Scharpf. “If it works like that, then we can handle something like that.”

But records are not the goal of the city, which has not actively promoted the Oktoberfest since the 1980s. But: “It’s a great festival and word gets around” - these days also via influencers and social media.

The Oktoberfest is an “international visitor magnet,” says Scharpf. He speaks of the “radiance of our Oktoberfest” and even of a “good-mood Oktoberfest”. The children's song “Good Mood”, which was one of the partygoers' musical favorites this year, also fits in well with this. In the city's opinion, a real Oktoberfest hit in 2026 has not emerged.

Despite all the “good spirits”, serious misfortunes overshadowed the celebration. On the morning of the last day, a 47-year-old Romanian employee was so seriously injured on a ship's swing that he had to be resuscitated. He was “in an area where he is not allowed to go,” says Munich police spokesman Thomas Schelshorn. There he was hit by the swing. The background is now being investigated by Commissariat 13, which is responsible for industrial accidents.

On the third day of Oktoberfest, a 52-year-old security employee at a freefall tower died after being trapped under a gondola. Why he was in an area where he shouldn't be is also still being investigated. The Oktoberfest community remembered their colleague at the traditional service - and Scharpf also recalled in his summary that this accident caused “great sadness and dismay”.

An over 90-year-old woman's attempt to pet a carriage horse at the Oidn Wiesn was fatal. Her wheelchair got caught in the harness and she fell. She died in hospital six days later.

In addition, a coach that was traveling from Italy to the Oktoberfest overturned on Autobahn 96 near Buchloe in Ostallgäu. Two people died and numerous others were injured, some seriously. The tour group of Filipino nationals living in Italy was on the way to Oktoberfest.

Regardless of these accidents, according to police spokesman Schelshorn, the atmosphere was “peaceful and mostly relaxed”: “It is a peaceful and beautiful Oktoberfest.” He attributes the slightly higher number of operations and crimes detected compared to 2025 (1,851) (854 this time, 748 last year) to the higher number of visitors - and also more drug offenses, especially cocaine.

The police carried out special checks in this area at this year's Oktoberfest. According to Schelshorn, 80 sexual offenses were reported, eight more than in 2025. The majority (52 cases) involved sexual harassment, and five cases were being investigated on suspicion of rape. According to him, there were also five cases in 2025.

The crowds flocked, and so 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.

The Aicher Ambulance also reported record numbers: 8,409 patients were treated by Sunday lunchtime - almost 300 more than in the previous record year of 2023 and 23.2 percent more than in 2026. The emergency service attributed this primarily to the high number of visitors. 40 percent of patients needed help solely because of alcohol poisoning.

The record value measured: 3.8 per mille. However, this is not necessarily the highest value. Finally, in order to be able to determine the alcohol level, the patient must still be able to blow into the testing device.

“The majority were not treated as a result of excessive alcohol consumption,” emphasizes Aicher managing director Michel Belcijan, pointing out the advantages of an intermediate water between the different pints of beer.

Possibly because not everyone took notice, the lost and found office had a lot to do this year too. In addition to 1,050 items of clothing, 700 wallets and 400 cell phones, strange finds were also handed in there: a grinding splint and a set of teeth, for example, the 1.80 meter tall figure of a snack stand - and a thick illustrated book about Tibet.