Social distancing is definitely not a part of the traditional Oktoberfest concept. The world's largest beer festival, which attracted 6.3 million visitors in 2019, gathers thousands of people celebrating in beer tents. It has now been confirmed that the Bavarian event will not take place for a second year in a row due to the coronavirus pandemic.

While Munich's Oktoberfest has been canceled once again, Dubai, which is holding its World Expo this year, is reportedly planning its own version of the famous beer festival at the Dubai Marina. According to reports, it would start on October 7, and instead of the usual two weeks of the German version, it would last six months.

Every year, thousands of people attend the Qingdao International Beer Festival, or Asian Oktoberfest, in Qingdao city in Shandong province in eastern China. Attendees get to taste over 200 different beers from more than 40 international brewers. This year's festivities will take place from late July through August 2021.

The twin cities of Kitchener and Waterloo in the province of Ontario have jointly hosted an annual Oktoberfest since 1969. Visitors usually have the opportunity to attend one of more than 40 events. After a "virtual" version last yer, organizers are hoping for a return to normal in 2021. Shown here: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau opening the ceremonies in 2016 by tapping the first keg.

Melbourne held its first ever Oktoberfest street parade on September 16, 2017. Up to 50 participants dressed in traditional Bavarian lederhosen and dirndls celebrated in the streets of the city's South Wharf district. Among the performances: thigh-slapping, yodeling and pork knuckle-eating.

Since 1970, residents of Helen in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Georgia have organized an annual Oktoberfest for the local community. Modeled on a traditional Bavarian town, Helen normally attracts up to 2 million visitors a year from around the United States.

If you go to this small town in southern Brazil, you may wonder whether you are still in South America. Founded by German immigrants in 1850, Blumenau has retained its distinctive Bavarian character throughout the years. Residents host one of the largest annual Oktoberfest celebrations in the entire continent.

In sunny El Cajon near San Diego, residents normally come together every October to enjoy bratwurst, potato salad and German beer as part of their own Oktoberfest celebrations. Shown here, the German band Guggenbach-Buam joined the celebrations in pre-pandemic times, performing traditional Bavarian festive music.

Billed as the largest Oktoberfest celebration in the United States, Oktoberfest Zinzinnati was first held in 1976. The festival traditionally kicks off with the "Running of the Wieners," where some 100 dachshunds wearing a hot dog bun costume race against each other. Another quirky event is the World's Largest Chicken Dance. It's still unclear whether it will be held in its normal format in 2021.

Beer gardens are more popular than ever during this coronavirus summer as they offer plenty of fresh air and space. These days you can find beer gardens all over Germany, but they were created in Bavaria at the beginning of the 19th century. Back then, brewers served their beer straight from the cooling cellars along the banks of the river Isar. They set up simple tables and benches for guests.

Germany is a beer country — and that's a fact. Using only four ingredients, German brewers have managed to create over 5,500 brands of beer. And that number is growing because every week, a new beer is released on the market. But Germany manages quantity as well as quality: It's the fifth-largest beer brewing nation in the world. China is in first place.

In the Ruhr area it's known as a Trinkhalle, in Mainz it is called a Büdchen, and in Berlin it goes by the name of Späti. These neighborhood kiosks sell newspapers, tobacco, sweets, and usually beer. What began more than 150 years ago as a place to sell water, now serves as an extension to city dweller's refrigerators, because the kiosk is never far away and almost always open.

Berlin's corner pubs, like the Willi Mangler in the Schönefeld district, are a part of German beer history. They have also become something of a cult. The mix of stuffy air, no nonsense food and a crowd of regular bar flies is what makes them so charming. Tourists rarely venture here, but residents of the neighborhood come to enjoy their after-work beer — freshly poured and unbeatably cheap.

Beer puts football fans in a festive mood or consoles them when their team loses. Well, in normal times. But the coronavirus has also changed that. The new Bundesliga season is scheduled to start on September 18, possibly even with an audience. However, there will be a strict ban on alcohol in the stadiums. So there will be no more beer-fuelled songs from the fans.

Funfair stalls, brass bands, and "Schlager" music are the main ingredients of a traditional German festival. A challenge to get through unless you consume plenty of beer. Well at least until COVID-19 arrived. Even Germany's biggest folk festival can't take place this year; the Oktoberfest in Munich has been canceled, like so many other folk festivals.

Whether wedding celebration, exhibition opening or hanging out in the park — beer in Germany is always an appropriate beverage for almost any occasion and may also be legally consumed in public. For a long time, it was considered a man's drink, but now beer is the most popular alcoholic beverage among 19 to 24-year-olds — men and women alike.

In Bavaria, where the German Beer Purity Law was adopted in 1516, beer has been an established part of life for centuries. Today, Bavaria has more than 600 breweries, more than any other state in Germany. In the Middle Ages, the breweries were firmly in the grip of monasteries. Some of these still exist, the oldest being Weltenburg Abbey (pictured) on the Danube.

Traditional breweries have now been joined by more experimental beer makers like Georg-Augustin Schmidt (pictured) and his micro-brewery "Braustil" in Frankfurt-am-Main. They produce small quantities of new, aroma-intensive varieties, often with organic ingredients and strong regional ties. The so-called craft beer scene is also booming in Hamburg and Berlin.

Those who are crazy about beer beyond drinking it will find more than 30 beer museums, beer hikes and beer brewing seminars in Germany. You can create your own beer at the "Grillakademie" craft beer seminar in Bochum. Participants also learn about the different varieties of beer as well as German brewing traditions and, of course, the German Beer Purity Law.

To mark International Beer Day on August 7, here's a quick guide. From left to right: the Berliner Weisse goes in a bowl-shaped glass; Kristallweizen wheat beer in a tall glass; lager is served in a beer mug; followed by a short glass for the dark Altbier; the small, narrow glass for the Cologne Kölsch brew; the rounded glass for Pils beer; and finally the Bavarian half-liter beer mug. Cheers!