Oktoberfest comes to a jolly, boozy end

The plaudits rained down on organizers from visitors and government officials alike. “It was a dream Oktoberfest,” said Munich’s Mayor Christian Ude.

Nearly 7 million people attended this year’s festivities, drinking 7.5 million litres of beer, similar to last year’s numbers. Warm weather prompted an increase in sales of non-alcoholic beverages by about 8 percent compared to 2010.

As has been the case for the last several years, authorities had warned attendees to be on the lookout for anything suspicious – fearing the possibility of a terrorist attack. But the festival was largely calm and trouble-free.

And despite concerns that the bad economy would dampen foreigners’ ability to attend the festivities this year, initial studies by the city’s tourism agency found no major drop off, according to the Stadtmagazin München magazine. Roughly 80 percent of Oktoberfest attendees are Germans, however.

Organizers also put energy-saving measures into place this year, using 3 percent less electricity than last year.

But it wasn’t all good news. Public transport was at times overwhelmed, with city officials repeatedly having to temporarily shut down metro stations due to

overcrowding.

And a study by an organization called the League Against Fraudulent Pouring found that beer mugs were only being filled to 90 percent during the festivities, meaning drinkers were being cheated despite paying an average of about €9 per Maß.

DPA/DAPD/The Local