OktoberfestCity warns of large crowds at the Oidn Wiesn - Mayor Krause will conduct the open-air concert
September 27, 2026, 1:09 p.m
At the open-air concert, 300 musicians play at the feet of the Bavaria and are conducted by celebrities. It's getting very crowded, especially at the Oidn Wiesn. The paramedics are reporting more patients than last year.
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
City warns: Large crowds at the Oidn Wiesn
The open-air concert ends with the Bavarian anthem and colorful balloons
More patients than last year and some dramatic missions for the paramedics
Around 300 brass musicians on the steps of Bavaria
The city and emergency services draw a positive half-time balance
City warns: Large crowds at the Oidn Wiesn
The city points out on its social media channels, including in its Instagram story, that there is currently a large crowd at the Oidn Wiesn and warns: “Please come at a later date”.
The open-air concert ends with the Bavarian anthem and colorful balloons
This year's open-air concert ends with the Bavarian anthem, accompanied by a number of colorful balloons rising into the bright blue sky. Beforehand, a few people waved the baton: Wiesn city councilor Anja Berger (Greens), this year's winner of the Wiesn innkeepers' honorary award, guest guide Georg Reichlmayr, Jörg Lehmann, the new Hofbräu brewery director, Hanna Sammüller, head of the district administration department, and at the grand finale also Dominik Krause, for the first time in his role as mayor.
Whether the musicians depend on the conductor's sense of tact or whether they could do it without their help remains a secret.
Balloons rise into the blue sky in front of the Bavaria on Sunday afternoon. Photo: Jacqueline Lang
Mayor Dominik Krause starts the Bavarian parade. Video: Jacqueline Lang
300 brass musicians gather at the foot of the Bavaria. Video: Jacqueline Lang
More patients than last year and some dramatic missions for the paramedics
Eight days of Oktoberfest - and the most strenuous for the paramedics was yesterday's middle Oktoberfest Saturday. They cared for 858 patients that day alone, from morning to midnight. In total, the Aicher medical service cared for 4,243 patients, seven percent more than at the same time last year.
Most patients (35 percent) were treated for “alcohol-related complaints,” as the medical service reports in its interim report. Almost as many (32 percent) had cuts, lacerations, bruises or fractures. 430 emergency services work for the medical service during the Oktoberfest, including 36 doctors. On days when there is a lot going on, up to 150 employees are on duty at the medical station at the same time.
An examination in the computer tomograph directly on the festival site determines whether Oktoberfest visitors with head injuries need further treatment in hospital. So far it has been used on 64 patients.
In the first week there were several very serious missions, the paramedics said in a statement. A 78-year-old visitor had to be resuscitated, and the emergency services recognized that a 47-year-old pretzel seller was suffering from an acute heart attack. And the fatal accident on a ride is also mentioned. “Of course, such operations also employ experienced emergency services and show that there are always individual people and fates behind our statistics,” said the managing director of the Aicher Ambulanz, Michel Belcijan.
The youngest patient was only one year old and the boy had minor injuries to his face. He was briefly cared for and allowed to return to his parents.
The paramedics on duty last week. Photo: Johannes Simon
The city and emergency services draw a positive half-time balance
The city as well as the fire brigade, police and paramedics draw a largely positive conclusion at halftime of the Oktoberfest. What may surprise some: so far more visitors have come to Oktoberfest than at this time last year. There were 3.5 million people in 2025, this year there have been 3.8 million so far. Why could one still have the feeling that there was less going on? More people came during the week, there was a little less activity on the weekends.
Wiesn boss Christian Scharpf sees this as a success of the information campaign surrounding the Wiesn. In general, Scharpf is also satisfied with the revised security concept after the second Saturday of the Oktoberfest, when the main entrances had to be closed for a short time: "It was a peaceful first week, it was a cheerful first week."
While beer consumption is declining, non-alcoholic beer consumption is increasing. What’s also trendy: sour shandy. Meanwhile, beer mugs are still frequently taken from the tents: 52,000 stolen beer mugs have been recorded so far. For comparison: in 2025 there were 59,000 at this time.
Incidentally, those responsible have not yet been able to identify a clear Oktoberfest hit. The children's song "Good Mood" is probably heard more often.
At the halfway point of Oktoberfest, the city is drawing positive conclusions. Photo: Felix Hörhager/dpa
Tour group had an accident on the way to Oktoberfest
A tour group from the Philippines was heading from Milan to Munich for the Oktoberfest on Sunday morning when their bus left the road and overturned. Two people died in the accident on Autobahn 96 near Buchloe in Ostallgäu, and numerous others were injured, some of them seriously.
Argument with the taxi driver after visiting the Oktoberfest
A drunk Oktoberfest visitor from Starnberg vomited in a taxi and then threw a log at the taxi driver in an argument about the cleaning costs. The 29-year-old had previously threatened the taxi driver with an ax. The 29-year-old is now being investigated.
Around 300 brass musicians on the steps of Bavaria
Around 300 brass musicians gathered at the foot of the Bavaria for the traditional outdoor concert on the second Sunday of the Oktoberfest. Oktoberfest director Christian Scharpf conducts the “Deutschmeister Regimental March” and the audience sings along. And Franziska Reichert, landlady of the Bräurosl, can also wield the baton for the first time this year.
Before that, however, innkeeper spokesman Peter Inselkammer - the innkeepers have been organizing the concert since 1985 - has his say. And with a view to the pending court decision on the allocation of tents, he is using it to once again point out the traditions at the Oktoberfest. According to Inselkammer, he hopes that the Bavarian Supreme Court will “rule in favor of the Oktoberfest” on October 13th. He gets a lot of applause for that.
Fire brigade operation at the Oktoberfest
Due to an operation by the fire brigade, the P7 entrance to the Oktoberfest grounds was closed in the morning. The reason was a burning garbage compactor for cardboard boxes, as a fire department spokesman said. The container was smoking heavily, but according to the police and fire department, there was no danger to visitors. The fire has now been extinguished and entrance P7 has reopened to Oktoberfest visitors. Why it burned is still unclear.
Start of the second Sunday of the Oktoberfest
Yesterday, the mountain festival and the Oktoberfest were so full for a short time that the main entrances had to be closed and announcements tried to encourage visitors to move on. Now Oktoberfest starts the second Sunday a few minutes late. Will it be really crowded again? In any case, the weather promises to be excellent once again and, above all, quite warm.
Perfect Oktoberfest weather is expected for the concert
Traditionally, music is played at the foot of Bavaria at the Oktoberfest on the middle Sunday of the Oktoberfest at 11 a.m. The bands from the Wiesn tents then meet and play for the so-called standing concert. In addition, it will be warm in late summer in Munich, it could probably be up to 24 degrees and the sun is shining over the Theresienwiese. The festival grounds could be very crowded again today.
That's why there are no municipal trash cans at Oktoberfest
Have you ever wondered why there are hardly any rubbish bins at the Oktoberfest and if there are, then only those that the stand operators have set up? The reason for this is an event that is celebrating its 46th anniversary this Saturday: the Oktoberfest attack, in which a right-wing extremist killed 12 people and himself and injured more than 200, some seriously. The perpetrator hid the bomb in a trash can.
In response, the city then abolished trash cans on the festival grounds. The large amount of rubbish that naturally collects there every day is swept up and disposed of by the city cleaning department at night.
Insider tip for sunset
The Oktoberfest at dusk is a special show. When the weather is nice, the mountains stand out on the horizon as clearly as if they were standing directly on the festival grounds. A special view of Theresienwiese is available from the tower of St. Paul's Church. At 50 meters there is a viewing platform that can be accessed by up to 40 people for a fee of a few euros. However, onlookers should not have a fear of space or heights.
The climb takes 252 steps via a narrow spiral staircase. It is so narrow on the balustrade that no backpacks, umbrellas or tripods are allowed. Anyone who makes the effort will be rewarded with a great view.
The tower is accessible Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., Sunday from 12:30 p.m. to 4 p.m., this Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and this Thursday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. It remains closed during church services.
The crowd is over - the situation at the Oktoberfest is relaxing again
The situation at the Oktoberfest is now easing somewhat. Reporter Jacqueline Lang says the crowd is no longer stagnant. There are larger gaps between the crowds again. The city's call to visit Theresienwiese another time if possible is still online. However, the advice to use the side entrances is no longer current and has disappeared from the account. The main entrances, which were temporarily closed, are open again.
Last year there was a critical crowd on the middle Saturday of the Oktoberfest. People were stuck in front of tents and many panicked. The entrances to Theresienwiese were temporarily closed at the time due to overcrowding. This time, such scenes were apparently prevented. The security concept had been adapted in advance.
Security forces ask people to move on
At the height of the Hacker-Pschorr festival tent you can now also see security forces addressing groups standing or even sitting on the ground. When asked, the group leader said that they were encouraging people to move forward "so that there is no traffic jam."
At least in some places, all of these measures seem to be having an effect: the gaps between people are becoming slightly larger again, and the main entrances to the Oktoberfest are open. However, announcements can still be heard at regular intervals.
The city now announces: Main entrances may be temporarily closed
The city now announces in a post on Instagram that the main entrances may be closed and advises people to use the side entrances to get into the site. With this message she wants to equalize the flow of visitors.
The request not to go to the Oktoberfest at all is still online, but quite hidden as a story. Since the Oktoberfest account has already reposted many stories from the tents today, this important news comes at the end. Why did the city decide on such a hidden communication strategy?
