Oktoberfest is a sixteen-day festival held each year in Munich, Germany during late September (and running to early October). It is one of the most famous events in Germany and the world’s largest fair, with some six million people attending every year, and is an enjoyable event with an important part of Bavarian culture. Other cities across the world also hold Oktoberfest celebrations, modeled after the Munich event.

The Munich Oktoberfest, traditionally, takes place during the sixteen days up to and including the first Sunday in October In 1994, the schedule was modified in response to German reunification so that if the first Sunday in October falls on the 1st or 2nd, then the festival will go on until October 3 (German Unity Day). Thus, the festival is now 17 days when the 1st Sunday is October 2 and 18 days when it is October 1. The festival is held on an area named the Theresienwiese (field, or meadow, of Therese), often called D，Wiesn for short.

Since 1950，there has been a traditional festival opening: A twelve gun salute and the tapping of the first keg of Oktoberfest beer at 12:00 by the incumbent Mayor of Munich with the cry “O’zapfl is!”（“It’s tapped!” in the Austro-Bavarian dialect) opens the Oktoberfest. The first mayor to tap the keg was Thomas Wimmer.

By 1960, the Oktoberfest had turned into an enormous world-famous festival. After this foreigners began to picture Germans as wearing the Sennerhut, Lederhosen, and the girls in Dirndl. Horse races ended in 1960.

The Oktoberfest is known as the Largest Volksfest (People’s Fair) in the World. In 1999 there were six and a half million visitors to the 42 hectare Theresienwiese. 72% of the people are from Bavaria. 15% of visitors come from foreign countries like the surrounding EU-coimtries and other non-European countries including the United States, Canada, India, Japan, Brazil and Australia.

Nearly 1,000 tons of refuse result annually from the Oktoberfest. The mountains of refuse created are hauled away and the ways cleanly washed down each morning. The cleaning is paid for in part by the city of Munich and in part by the sponsors.

After 2004 the queues for toilets became so long that the police had to regulate the entrance. To keep traffic moving through the restrooms, men headed for the toilets were directed to the “Pissoir” (giant enclosed grate) if they only needed to urinate. The number of toilets was increased in 2005 by 20%. Now approximately 1,800 toilets and urinals are available.

Many Oktoberfest guests visit the quiet stalls in order to use their cell phones. For this reason it was planned in the year 2005 to install a Faraday cage around the toilets and to prevent telephoning with a mobile telephone. However, such constructions are not certified in Germany, and so instead signs were placed warning toilet users not to use cell phones in the stalls.

Even with the availability of toilets, it is not uncommon to see many inebriated guests urinating on the small hills and trees surrounding the grounds.

Oktoberfest beer mugs (1-litre-Steins, Markrug in German) are made from heavy glass and typically have a decorative brewery logo on the side，thus making them very popular souvenirs among visitors. Although it is strictly forbidden to steal the mugs, they can be purchased in the tents at a reasonable price. Buyers are strongly advised to keep the receipts because police are known to search them for stolen mugs even away from the fest area. When police catch someone stealing a mug, the thieves may be fined up to 50. In addition, there is a general Oktoberfest souvenir mug which shows each year’s Oktoberfest poster. This one is made of clay instead of glass and is available with a pewter lid.