Munich mayor Dieter Reiter opened the city’s 183rd annual Oktoberfest on September 17 with the traditional call of “O’Zapft is” to the delight of thousands who had managed to get a place in the main beer tent.
Dubbed as the world’s largest fair, Oktoberfest has got off to a great start despite the rains and tight security. The 18-day folk festival, running through October 3, is, for the most part, dominated by alcohol, food, games and adventure rides.
Oktoberfest, commonly known as Wiesn in Munich, was first held in 1810, as part of 5-day-long wedding celebrations of Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen, and repeated the year after, in the process kick-starting the widely-popular Oktoberfest.