Munich Mayor Dieter Reiter gave the Oktoberfest in the Bavarian capital its traditional launch on Saturday, opening a barrel of beer and marking it with the time-honored phrase "O'zapft is!" (Bavarian for "It is tapped").

Reiter then handed the first mug to Bavarian Premier Markus Söder with a wish for a peaceful festival, with the day's sunny, late summer weather auguring well for its success.

Ahead of the tapping, Söder described Oktoberfest as chance to get some relief in a period of multiple crises and a place where "pure high spirits" prevail.

Germany's biggest tourist event

The event held on the Theresienwiese fairground in central Munich is known as the world's largest beer and folk festival.

Belying its name, Oktoberfest always begins in September, running this year from September 20 bis October 5.

As the country's major tourist event, the annual festival, now in its 190th edition, is expected to attract at least 6 million visitors, with a record of 7.2 million set in 2023.

The amount of beer drunk at the festival is commensurate with visitor numbers, with revelers downing 7.4 million liters (1.95 million gallons) of the amber-hued, yeast-based beverage in the same year.

However, some might be in for a shock at what they now have to pay for a mug, with prices reaching record levels this year.

In addition to consuming beer in any of the numerous tents erected for that purpose, visitors can go on amusement rides, participate in games and enjoy traditional Bavarian dishes or other comestibles from the food stalls.

Many people gathered at the venue from the dark early hours of Saturday morning waiting for admission at 9 a.m. local time (7 a.m. GMT) so they were sure of getting a table in one of the tents, and then had to remain sitting patiently until the first beers were served at noon, after the opening.

Read more on Oktoberfest and what it has to offer in DW's preview.

Edited by: Karl Sexton