(Maybe next year)

Another world class event has fallen victim to the coronavirus pandemic. German officials have announced that Oktoberfest 2020 will not be taking place this year.

The hits keep coming…

On October 21^st Bavaria’s Minister-President Markus Söder announced Oktoberfest 2020, the biggest beer festival in the world, would not be taking place this year….In a joint press conference with Munich’s Mayor Dieter Reiter, Söder was unable to mask his disappointment. “It hurts, it’s such a pity…but we have agreed that the risk is simply too high.”

“We have experienced that various beer festivals, or even carnival events, were unfortunately virus hubs,” said Söder. As long as there is no vaccine, as long as there is no medicine, special care must be taken.”

Mayor Reiter, described the cancellation as a “bitter pill” for the city but said that officials had no other choice. “You can’t host a folk festival in a time like this,” he said.

Oktoberfest, which was scheduled to run from September 19 to October 4, is an enormous economic boon for Munich’s brewery and hospitality industry. In 2019 the 16-day celebration generated more than 1.2 billion euros (US $1.3 billion) for the city as visitors drank more than 1.9 million gallons of beer.

(Oktoberfest 2020 cancellled)

This isn’t the first time the 210-year-old festival has been canceled and it’s not the first time it was cancelled due to a pandemic…

In 1854 the event, which the locals call Wiesn, (German for meadow and shorthand for Theresa’s Meadow where the first Oktoberfest gathering took place) was cancelled due to a cholera outbreak that killed more than 3000 locals. But it’s been decades since Oktoberfest was canceled….The last time was during World War II.

Tuesday’s announcement didn’t come as a surprise according to NPR. “Söder hinted at such a possibility in late March, shortly after declaring a state of emergency due to the virus outbreak.”

Germany currently ranks fifth in the world with over 147,000 COVID-19 cases confirmed, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

And even though new infection showed signs of slowing in March, nearly 4,900 people in Germany have been lost to the virus so far.

For more on ‘what could have been’ check out:

OKTOBERFEST – THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY

OKTOBERFEST ENDS WITH BEER CONSUMPTION DOWN AND DRUNKEN SCOOTER ARRESTS UP