Oktoberfest is a two-week festival held annually in Munich, Bavaria, Germany, in late September and early October. It is one of the city’s most famous events and is also the largest festival in the world, with around six million visitors annually. Other cities around the world also hold festivals using Munich’s festival as a model, even using the name Oktoberfest.

The event typically lasts for sixteen days, up to and including the first Sunday in October. However, if this Sunday falls on the 1st or 2nd, the festival continues until October 3rd (German Unity Day). The festival takes place in an area called Theresienwiese, or “d’ Wiesn” for short. Beer is the main focus of the festival, and the opening of the festival is marked by the Mayor of Munich opening a beer keg with the words “O’zapft is!” (Bavarian for “It’s opened!”).

A special Oktoberfest beer with a stronger, more intense flavor and alcohol content is also prepared for this event. It is served in one-liter glasses called Maß. The first glass is given to the Minister-President of Bavaria. Only local brewers are permitted to serve this beer in a Bierzelt, a beer tent large enough to accommodate thousands of people.

Visitors typically wear traditional costumes called dirndls and lederhosen. They can also enjoy a variety of foods, mostly traditional dishes like sausages, hendl (chicken), käsespätzle (cheese noodles), and sauerkraut, as well as other Bavarian specialties like roast oxtail.