MUNICH (AP) — Security has been stepped up at Oktoberfest following last month's deadly knife attack in the western German city of Solingen, and authorities have warned visitors to expect longer lines at the entrances as metal detectors are being installed for the first time in the Bavarian beer festival's 189-year history.
Authorities say there is no particular threat to the world's largest folk festival, which kicks off in Munich on Saturday with the traditional barrel opening and runs until October 6. Around six million participants are expected during the festival, many dressed in traditional lederhosen and dirndls.
The increased security follows an attack in Solingen on August 23 that left three people dead and eight injured. A 26-year-old Syrian suspect was arrested. He was reportedly an asylum seeker who was due to be deported to Bulgaria last year but went missing and avoided being deported. The Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility for the violence without providing any evidence.
The unrest has shocked Germany and thrust migration back to the top of the political agenda, prompting the interior ministry to extend temporary border controls this week to all nine land borders, a closure that is due to last for six months and threatening to test European unity.
The effects of the attack in Solingen and other recent violence across Germany will be felt at Oktoberfest, where handheld metal detectors will be used for the first time by police and security guards to track down random or suspicious behaviour.
“We have had to respond to the increasing number of knife attacks in recent weeks and months,” Munich Mayor Dieter Reiter told The Associated Press during a media tour of the festival grounds to highlight the new safety measures. “We will do everything in our power to ensure that no one brings knives or other dangerous weapons to Oktoberfest.”
There will be around 600 police officers and 2,000 security guards, and more than 50 cameras installed inside the fenced-in festival grounds. Festival-goers will also be banned from bringing knives, glass bottles and rucksacks.
Oktoberfest has been plagued by heightened security measures throughout its history, with authorities implementing stricter measures after a series of attacks in 2016, including one in which a German teenager shot and killed nine people at a Munich shopping mall before killing himself.
Festival organizer Clemens Baumgartner promised a safe public space – perhaps “the safest place in Germany” – throughout the 16 days of Oktoberfest.
