(photo c/o City of Munich)

Throughout the world beer festivals have been postponed or cancelled due to the Coronavirus. In some countries organizers are now considering events in the summer on a limited scale, while in others, they are cautiously optimistic about sticking to their original plans. But some jaw-dropping news came in from Germany: Oktoberfest 2020 has been cancelled!

In a press conference on April 21st, the Minister-President of Bavaria, Markus Söder, and Munich Mayor Dieter Reiter, stunned the beer world with the announcement that due to concerns over public safety, the state of Bavaria was left with no choice but to cancel the event. They reasoned that while there is no vaccine for COVID-19, people sitting side by side reveling in busy beer halls would be a massive public health disaster in the making. While the decision may seem too soon for many, Germany has taken a much stricter approach than most countries in the fight against the virus. The general perception is that it isn’t going away until there is a vaccine, so until that time, large public events cannot be held. Söder backed up that thinking stating, “As long as there is no vaccine, as long as there is no medicine, special care must be taken.”

The massive Oktoberfest festival was set to run from September 19th to October 4th this year. It was expected to draw upwards of six million attendees from all over the world. In a time of financial turmoil for many in our industry across the globe, our hearts go out to the thousands of Bavarian businesses and workers that will be put in serious financial straits due to the cancellation.

(compiled with information sourced from the official Oktoberfest website oktoberfest.de)