Germany’s Oktoberfest, the world’s largest folk festival, where revellers from all over the world gather to swig large quantities of beer, has been cancelled due to the coronavirus crisis, the southern state of Bavaria said on Tuesday, Reuters reports.
Around six million partygoers gather every year in Munich for the two-week long festivities, held in packed tents with long wooden tables and oompah bands, which makes more than 1 billion euros ($1.08 billion) for the city.
“We have decided the risk is simply too great,” state premier Markus Soeder told reporters. “It hurts, it is a huge shame,” he added.
This year’s Oktoberfest had been scheduled to take place from Sept. 19 to Oct. 4.
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.
