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Oktoberfest is open. The world鈥檚 largest folk festival begins after ceremonial keg-tapping

Waitresses film the opening start of the 189th 'Oktoberfest' beer festival in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. (Matthias Schrader/AP Photo) Waitresses film the opening start of the 189th 'Oktoberfest' beer festival in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. (Matthias Schrader/AP Photo)
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MUNICH -

Oktoberfest is open.

Mayor Dieter Reiter officially started Oktoberfest at noon Saturday when he inserted the tap into the first beer keg, signaling the 189th start of the festival. Thousands of beer lovers celebrated in the Munich fairground as the first to clink their mugs during the world鈥檚 largest folk festival.

Servers immediately began ferrying trays 鈥 each carrying up to 8 glass mugs 鈥 to tables. Revelers started clinking their mugs and taking deep gulps of beer in the stuffy heat of the tent.

The celebration runs through Oct. 6 in 18 large tents covering the Theresienwiese fairground.

This year鈥檚 festival includes stepped-up security in the wake of a deadly knife attack in Solingen, a city roughly 470 kilometres (292 miles) northwest of Munich. The violence on Aug. 23 left three people dead and eight more wounded, and the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack, without citing evidence. As a result, organizers added metal detectors to the security lineup for the first time in Oktoberfest鈥檚 history, but said there were no concrete threats.

Tens of thousands of people lined the streets early Saturday to watch the opening parade as others raced to claim tables inside the tents. They gossiped, played cards and walked around the fairgrounds to check out the food options and amusement park rides to kill time before they could start drinking.

Revelers sprinted through the fairgrounds at 9 a.m. as soon as the entrances opened, despite security officers鈥 attempts to keep the procession orderly. They laughed despite the morning chill 鈥 someone could be heard shrieking 鈥渨hy are we running!鈥 鈥 and raced to get in line again, but this time to be first inside the tents.

Some six million visitors are expected over the festival's 16 days 鈥 up to 600,000 each day 鈥 and can expect to shell out between 13.60 and 15.30 euros ($15.12 to $17.01) for a 1-liter mug of beer (33 fl oz). This year's prices are roughly 3.87% more than in 2023.

Mikael Caselitz, 24, was born and raised in Munich and has attended Oktoberfest for years. He said everyone should travel to Munich for the festival at least once in their lives.

鈥淚t can get really crowded and disgusting when people puke on the side of the road,鈥 he joked, 鈥渂ut overall it鈥檚 a really fun experience.鈥

Ollie Standen woke up at 6 a.m. to get in line early for Oktoberfest, where the beer starts flowing at noon. The 21-year-old from England is in Munich this year for a university exchange program and a local friend told him he had to join the festivities. He said he鈥檚 looking forward to trying different German beers that aren鈥檛 usually found in the United Kingdom.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a great German tradition and I鈥檓 excited to be here,鈥 he said.

The event was skipped in 2020 and 2021 as authorities grappled with COVID-19, but returned in 2022.

The first Oktoberfest was held Oct. 17, 1810 to celebrate the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria to Theresa of Saxony. The venue, a meadow on the edge of Munich at the time, was called 鈥淭heresienwiese鈥 to honor the bride. While that name remains, the start date has moved up to September, when the temperatures in Bavaria are usually warmer. 

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