MUNICH — Sorry, beer aficionados: Germany has canceled its iconic Oktoberfest amid concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.
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According to Reuters, the annual festival, which had been set for Sept. 19 to Oct. 4 in Munich, usually draws about 6 million attendees from around the world and nets more than $1.08 billion U.S. This year, however, “the risk is simply too great” to hold the event, Bavaria state Premier Markus Soeder said.
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“We are living in different times, and living with corona means living carefully,” Soeder said in a statement. “The greatest sensitivity applies to celebrations.”
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Dieter Reiter, the mayor of Munich, called the decision “a bitter pill to swallow,” according to the festival’s website.
“We hope that next year, we can make it up together,” he said in a statement.
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As of Tuesday morning, Germany had reported more than 147,065 confirmed coronavirus cases – the fifth-highest number of infections in the world, according to Johns Hopkins University. At least 4,862 people there have died from the virus.
