From September 19 to October 4, 2026, millions are expected to descend on Munich. Why? Because the iconic Oktoberfest 2026 is back, of course! This year, the world's biggest beer festival returns to Bavaria's capital, and the celebration is also taking place in several other cities around the globe.
Paris has welcomed this popular event on its soil since 2015, offering ten days of festivities to dive into the grand beer celebration without leaving France. But do you know how the Oktoberfest began? Here is the history and origins of the world's largest beer festival, celebrated across the globe, though its origins remain little known…
Who would ever suspect thatOktoberfest is actually a wedding anniversary? It was the wedding of the future King Ludwig I of Bavaria and Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen in October 1810. To celebrate this happy event, the royal family organized a public celebration in a large meadow outside the city, with 14 giant tents, over 600,000 roast chickens and a horse race.
By 1819, the traditional horse races had been replaced by attractions and refreshment stands. From 1896 onwards, the first large tents were erected on the Wies'n (Theresienwiese), attracting tourists as well as many locals. Today,Oktoberfest remains the world's biggest beer festival!
And despite the passing years, Oktoberfest still follows a few very specific rules. First in line are the brewers. Then comes the parade, led by brewing families perched on flower-adorned wagons. More decorated floats, on which waitresses brandish the famous steins, bring up the rear. The festival can only begin when Munich’s mayor taps the first keg, proclaiming "O’zapft is" ("the beer is drawn").
Every year,Oktoberfest is also an opportunity to dress up in traditional costumes: the"Lederhose", the famous skin breeches for men, and the"Dirndl", the puff-sleeved dress for women. Under the tents, beers served in"Mass" and roast pork knuckles take pride of place, while visitors sing and dance to the rhythm of traditional Bavarian music played by various orchestras.
TheOktoberfest attracts 6.5 million visitors every year, under 34 tents. 600 waitresses in the seven largest tents carry a good dozen 1-liter mugs at a time - that's 20 kilos! To continue with the figures, over 5 million mugs of beer and 400,000 pork sausages are consumed every year at theOktoberfest.
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