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Oktoberfest is a 16-day festival
held each year in Munich, Bavaria,
Germany, running from late September
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. The Oktoberfest is 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.
To
keep the Oktoberfest, and especially
the beer tents, friendly for older
people and families, the concept of
the "quiet Oktoberfest" was
developed in 2005. Until 6:00 pm,
the tents only play quiet music, for
example traditional wind music. Only
after that will Schlager and pop
music be played, which had led to
more violence in earlier years. The
music played in the afternoon is
limited to 85 decibels. With these
measures, the organizers of the
Oktoberfest were able to curb the
over-the-top party mentality and
preserve the traditional beer tent
atmosphere.
Since
2005 the last traveling Enterprise
ride of Germany, called Mondlift, is
back on the Oktoberfest.
Starting in 2008, a new Bavarian law
intended to ban smoking in all
enclosed spaces that are open to the
public, even at the Oktoberfest.
Because of problems enforcing the
anti-smoking law in the big tents
there was an exception for the
Oktoberfest 2008, although the sale
of tobacco was not allowed. After
heavy losses in the 2008 local
elections with the smoke ban being a
big issue in debates, the state's
ruling party meanwhile implemented
special exemptions to beer tents and
small pubs. So, smoking in the tents
is still legal, but the tents
usually have non-smoking areas. The
sale of tobacco in the tents is now
legal, but it's abandoned by
agreement.
2010
marks the 200th Anniversary of
Oktoberfest.
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