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Oktoberfest Briefly Shuts Gates After 5 p.m. Surge as Messaging Draws Scrutiny

Officials blame the reservation turnover for the bottleneck, reporting no injuries.

Overview

  • Police urged people to stay away and closed entrances for about 30 minutes as U-Bahn trains temporarily skipped Theresienwiese.
  • Access was restored in stages and flows eased within roughly an hour as guests returned to their reserved tables.
  • At a Sunday briefing, Wiesn chief Christian Scharpf estimated about 300,000 people were on the grounds Saturday afternoon.
  • City and festival leaders said the safety plan worked, and Aicher Ambulanz increased patient intake capacity by 40% within minutes as a precaution.
  • Visitors and social media posts faulted early loudspeaker messages and crowd handling, and organizers acknowledged communication was not optimal and pledged improvements.