Germany’s Oktoberfest, the world’s largest beer festival held every year in Munich, will not take place in 2021 due to the coronavirus crisis, officials said on Monday.
The pandemic has forced the cancellation of the hugely popular festival for the second consecutive year. It had been scheduled from September 18 to October 3.
The decision was made by Bavarian state Premier Markus Söder and Munich Mayor Dieter Reiter. Söder said that Oktoberfest is the “most global” festival there is, and that the pandemic is not yet under enough control to allow people from all over the world to gather in tents.
“In the classic beer tents at the big festivals, social distancing, masks and other measures are practically impossible to implement,” Söder said.
“The situation is too precarious,” he added. “Imagine there was a new wave and it then became a superspreader event. The brand would be damaged forever and we don’t want that.”
