Oktoberfest canceled due to outbreak

This year’s Oktoberfest, one of the most anticipated festivals in Munich, in Germany’s Bavaria has been canceled, as the country’s latest lockdown measures include a ban on major public events.

The organizers said that with the mayor of Munich had jointly made the final decision to call it off.

Oktoberfest is the world’s largest beer festival and draws in 6 million people every year to the city of Munich. This year’s festivities were scheduled to start on September 19 and run until October 4.

Two weeks ago, Oktoberfest vendors already floated the idea of holding a mini-Oktoberfest — one that would only be open for locals in Munich and the surrounding region. The suggestion failed to gather steam with Munich city officials, who dismissed the idea.

Some areas in Germany have started to relax lockdown measures introduced last month to slow the spread of the coronavirus, but big events are banned until Aug. 31. On Monday, Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Germans to be disciplined to avoid a relapse after some improvement in the virus numbers.

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