OktoberfestAlready 5.2 million Oktoberfest visitors by Wednesday
October 3, 2026, 9:01 am
The analysis of cell phone data up to the middle of the second week of the festival shows a significant increase. A man is resuscitated in the Oktoberfest camp and dies in the clinic. At the weekend the sun will appear again for the final spurt.
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
Significant increase in the number of visitors to the Oktoberfest
38-year-old is resuscitated at Oktoberfest camp and dies in hospital
Cockatiel visits the Oktoberfest - and is now waiting for its owners at the animal shelter
Expensive cocaine consumption: 30,000 euros security deposit
One in four comes by car - more crowded during the week
Significant increase in the number of visitors to the Oktoberfest
Oktoberfest has been extremely well attended so far this year. Up to and including Wednesday, 5.2 million visitors came, according to anonymized mobile phone data that the companies Telefónica and Invenium Data Insights evaluated for the German Press Agency (dpa). That is around 700,000 more people than in the same period last year. A major reason was probably the good weather throughout the entire Oktoberfest period. In the past two years, visitor numbers have remained largely constant.
If you extrapolate the numbers, the festival could reach the seven million mark this year. The previous record is 7.2 million visitors in 2023 - but back then the Oktoberfest was two days longer than this year. In order to achieve such values this year, exceptionally high visitor numbers would be needed in the last days of the festival. And the weather forecast still promises little or no rain, but it won't be as sunny at the weekend as it has been most of the time.
According to Telefónica, the proportion of international guests is now around 31 percent - six percentage points more than two years ago. The largest group of foreign visitors are Americans - even if they come somewhat less often. They are followed by Italians - on the middle weekend alone, which is also known as the "Italian weekend" in Munich, the analysis counted around 58,000 Oktoberfest visitors from this country.
Overall, the audience is a little older this year. The average is 46 years. The 50 to 59 year olds made up the largest group of visitors with around 23 percent. 18 to 29 year olds came to 21.5 percent - that was 5.1 percentage points less than two years ago. According to the analysis, on average people stayed at the Oktoberfest for a good five and a half hours.
38-year-old is resuscitated at Oktoberfest camp and dies in hospital
A man was taken from an Oktoberfest campsite in Riem to the hospital while being resuscitated and died there. According to police, rescue workers found the 38-year-old on the premises shortly before midnight on Thursday.
The cause of death is still unclear. According to the police, the man was drunk. She was unable to find any evidence of external influence. Commissariat 12, which is responsible for death investigations, has taken over the case.
According to the operator, the campsite offers space for up to 1,500 mobile homes during the Oktoberfest. This makes it the largest of its kind in Munich.
Many tents closed for reservation changes
Unsurprisingly, at least the main entrances to most tents are closed now that the reservation change is in full swing. However, there isn't too much of a crowd for a Friday evening at the moment.
Jacqueline Long
How male fish are prepared
Male fish, they are simply part of the Oktoberfest. If you've always wanted to know how they are prepared, it's best to stop by Fischer-Vroni: mackerel, salmon trout and char are skewered on wooden sticks and cooked diagonally over open charcoal embers. There are dozens of fish stuck next to each other. If you don't just want to look but also try it, you'll pay between 4.90 and 6.50 euros per 100 grams.
Jacqueline Long
Gray skies on the last Friday of Oktoberfest
This Friday shows how spoiled Munich has been with the weather over the past twelve days: Instead of bright blue, the sky is gray and cloudy - and even if it's not cold, it's still a little cooler than the other days.
This creates a different atmosphere on the festival grounds, albeit perhaps subjectively - and there also seems to be less going on: you can easily get a seat in the beer gardens even in the late afternoon, and waitresses have time to stroll around because they obviously lack customers. But Friday is still young.
Jacqueline Long
51-year-old is said to have hit woman in the head with a jug
A 51-year-old is said to have hit a 38-year-old German woman in the head with a beer mug in the Käfer beer garden on Thursday evening. The woman was slightly injured by the blow, suffering a cut to her head and pain. She received medical attention on site.
According to police findings, the two had previously come into physical contact with each other several times due to the limited space. This is said to have initially developed into a verbal argument before the man became violent.
Since the American does not have a permanent residence in Germany, he was only released after paying a security deposit amounting to a low five-figure amount. The 51-year-old was charged with grievous bodily harm.
Young people sexually harassed in the Schottenhamel tent
A 22-year-old man is said to have sexually harassed two young people aged 15 and 16 in the Schottenhamel festival tent last night. The three were sitting at a table, but didn't know each other before. The man is said to have grabbed the 16-year-old's buttocks. When she then asked him to leave the table, he allegedly grabbed the 15-year-old's face with both hands and tried to kiss her. She turned her head away so he kissed her cheek.
An uninvolved witness informed the security service, who called the police. The emergency services temporarily arrested the suspect and took him to the Wiesnwache. After the Italian paid a security deposit in the mid-three-digit range, he was released. The police are investigating suspected sexual harassment.
Women are often victims of upskirting at the Oktoberfest:
Wiesn Courage Prize goes to Wiesn wait staff
This year's Wiesn Courage Prize goes to Wiesn waitress Daria Aigner. The 25-year-old, who works in the Augustiner Festival Hall, was “the first to recognize that a guest was in mortal danger” and gave the unconscious man chest compressions for 15 minutes until the emergency doctor arrived, according to a press release from Condrobs e. v.
Aigner has now been recognized for this effort by a six-member jury and was presented with the award by Mayor Dominik Krause, patron of the “WiesnGentleman*” prevention project.
However, the winner sees the award as one for the entire team, because while she was giving the man chest compressions, her colleague Helena Morawietz made the emergency call, her twin sister Frieda stayed with her wife, bar waiters and other waitresses held up towels and shielded the scene from the other guests. “I did what I learned in my training as a medical assistant,” said Aigner – but she couldn’t have done it alone.
Mayor Krause praised the effort: "Daria Aigner acted immediately when every second counted and she didn't give up. But above all, this requires courage." He would like to thank everyone who helped keep the man alive that afternoon in the first week of the Oktoberfest.
Unfortunately, the story still doesn't have a happy ending: As the Aicher Ambulance announced at the mid-term review on Sunday, the 78-year-old died a few days after the incident.
The Wiesn Courage Prize was presented to Daria Aigner (with a gingerbread heart) by Mayor Dominik Krause. Condrobs e.V.
Too big for Olympic looping - two men freak out
A 39-year-old and a 41-year-old wanted to ride the Olympic loop on Thursday evening. According to the police, they got into an argument with the employees about the maximum height for the trip. The limit is 1.95 meters, both of them were taller. During the argument, the 39-year-old is said to have insulted a 22-year-old employee in the ticket booth and hit the cash register window. According to the police, the damage amounted to around 1,000 euros.
When a 21-year-old employee came over to help, the two men are said to have insulted her and pushed her against a wall. The woman was slightly injured. Complaints were filed against the men for assault, property damage and threats.
The size limit was also discussed at the beginning of the week during a trip by Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU). After the ride with Mayor Dominik Krause (Greens), he joked in a video that, at 1.94 meters, he was just within the limits of the ride.
The weather forecast for the last days of Wiesn
At the final spurt of the Oktoberfest this coming weekend, locals and tourists can once again look forward to sunshine - even if it won't be perfect weather all the time.
According to the German Weather Service, Friday will begin with heavy cloud cover, especially in western Upper Bavaria and Swabia, with some showery rain, which is expected to subside during the day. It can also be foggy in some areas. The temperatures fluctuate between 15 degrees in the Lower Main and 8 degrees in the eastern low mountain ranges.
But it will be warmer again on Saturday. The meteorologists expect temperatures of up to 24 degrees, and on Sunday it could also be over 20 degrees with changing clouds. However, the German Weather Service expects occasional showers on the edge of the Alps - which can spoil the mountain experience under certain circumstances.
Cockatiel visits the Oktoberfest - and is now waiting for its owners at the animal shelter
A small, colorful bird got lost in the Hofbräuhaus tent on Thursday afternoon. The trusting cockatiel landed on the shoulder of a waitress and was given nuts by those present, according to the fire department. When the supply of nuts ran out, employees put the feathered Oktoberfest guest in a bakery box and called the fire department. The emergency services received the bird a short time later and carefully placed it in an animal trapping box. The animal was “extremely cooperative,” it said. He did not attempt to escape. Because it could not be clarified on site who the cockatiel belonged to, the fire department took it to the Riem animal shelter. The search is now underway for his owners.
Munich fire department
Security man strikes and is thrown out
For a 31-year-old security employee, Oktoberfest is over. The man from Hildesheim in Lower Saxony is said to have acted so violently towards a disobedient visitor in the entrance area of a festival tent on Wednesday evening that he is now being investigated for bodily harm. The police also banned the man from entering the Oktoberfest.
At around 9:10 p.m., the security service employee observed a visitor urinating in the area of the tent exit. According to police, the security employee asked the 37-year-old from Denmark to leave. He apparently refused and a physical altercation ensued. According to the current status of the investigation, the security man hit the Dane in the face with his fist. The visitor fell to the ground and briefly lost consciousness. He was medically examined by the emergency services, but fortunately he did not suffer any serious injuries as a result of the beating.
Expensive cocaine consumption: 30,000 euros security deposit
From the police’s point of view, Oktoberfest 2026 is likely to be a “normal” Oktoberfest. With one exception: the consumption of illegal drugs - especially cocaine - has reached unprecedented levels this year. Even before the final balance next Sunday we can find out: The number of arrests for drug-related offenses has now increased by almost 50 percent compared to the previous year. The reasons are varied. The nice weather apparently tempts some consumers to carelessly grab the white powder outdoors. There they are then observed, not least by the police, who monitor almost every corner of Theresienwiese with cameras. And which has also further intensified its controls.
Catherine Hess
A 36-year-old Brit from Northern Ireland behaved particularly boldly on Wednesday afternoon. On the hill next to the Bavaria, he was rolling up a banknote and then pulling a line of cocaine up his nose when police stopped him. Apparently the arrested man then thought it would be a good idea to boast about his opulent income at the Wiesnwache. That had consequences. The security deposit due to the police is calculated accordingly. And so the Briton was only allowed to travel home after he had left 30,000 euros behind. The investigation into him for a violation of the Narcotics Act continues.
Women catch “upskirting” suspects
Two men from Italy were arrested by police on Wednesday for allegedly looking under women's skirts and, in one case, even taking photos. Criminal proceedings now await the 36- and 43-year-olds. For the time being, they are only allowed to travel home to Italy because they have each deposited four-digit security deposits.
The 36-year-old is said to have filmed under the skirt of a 26-year-old from the Starnberg area in the crossbow rifle tent around 6:15 p.m. So-called upskirting is punished with a fine or imprisonment of up to two years. The young woman's friends noticed the attack. They detained the man, took his cell phone and informed security. Because the man and his companion behaved aggressively towards the security service employees, both were taken out of the festival tent and arrested by police officers. The 36-year-old's cell phone was confiscated. The man was reported for injuring his private parts through images. After paying a security deposit of 1000 euros - i.e
