Without a doubt, the Oktoberfest traditionally begins with the tapping of the barrel by the mayor (OB). On Saturday, Mayor Dieter Reiter (SPD) will perform the most important official ceremony of the year when the Oktoberfest begins. At least as far as the attention of the international media is concerned: at 12 o’clock, he will tap the first barrel. With a Wiesn beer in the Schottenhamel tent, the 189th Oktoberfest will officially be celebrated.
Does Reiter need just two master strokes before the beer starts flowing this year? He certainly hopes so. What is certain is that he will compete in lederhosen again. But the entertainment is also guaranteed in other Oktoberfest tents.
At first, it was a celebrity, sometimes even the Wiesn host himself who tapped. Cabaret artist Monika Gruber is expected to tap the keg once again at the Volkssängerzelt Schützenlisl together with festival hosts Christine and Lorenz Stiftl. It remains to be seen whether the busy ‘Grubberin’ will also be able to make a small singing appearance this year.
© Munich Stuven
From Munich Stuven
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Celebrity Tapping at Oktoberfest: Secretary of State and Influencers: The Variety of People Tapping
There are also strong women in the Munich Stubn festival tent. Young racing driver Sophia Flörsch picks up the hammer from host couple Kathrin Wickenhäuser-Egger and Alex Egger. She was there last year too. She only got hit twice, but the beer splashed quite a bit.
“I already tried it this year,” she says, laughing. “I’m completely dry!” Nina Suess, who is this year’s fashion influencer-turned-Oktoberfest tapper at the Reinbolt family’s Schützenzelt, has yet to tap.
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In adulthood
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Other celebrities who will be pressing the switch at 12 o’clock on Saturday include Bavarian CSU Finance Minister Martin Schöffel in the (state-run) Hofbräu tent, and Josef Schmid (CSU), member of the state parliament and former second mayor of Munich, who will show off his tapping skills on a Fischer Vroni.
No one could have found a more suitable choice for the new Boandlkramerei tent in Oidn Wiesn. Ultimately, actor Maximilian Brückner took on the role of Boandlkramer in the Volkstheater’s Brandner Kaspar. “I’m really interested in Ozapfa,” he says of his assignment on Saturday.
This great wish for the 189th Oktoberfest to finally begin can also be felt by many Oktoberfest organizers who drink their beer directly in the festival tents.
“That’s the boss’s problem,” says Thomas Roiderer from Hackerzelt with a smile. He thinks he only needs two hits this year. The same goes for Steffi Spendler, the festival hostess from Löwenbräuzelt, and her colleagues Thomas Vollmer (Augustinerzelt), Peter Inselkammer (Armbrustschützenzelt) or Peter Reichert (Bräurosl).
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In adulthood
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Not every tent at Oktoberfest has a keg banging at its entrance.
But the tapping scene isn’t everywhere. For example, at Oktoberfest hostess Antje Haberl’s Ochsenbraterei, there’s no tapping at all. There, after greetings and toasts, the beer starts flowing at 12 o’clock. “Traditionally, the honor of tapping belongs to our market,” Haberl says.
And anyone who thinks it has always been like that is mistaken. It should be noted that the market knocking spectacle has only been celebrated in the Schottenhamel tent since 1950. A successful performance that publicly shows the joy of Oktoberfest with as little punch as possible has always won the sympathy of the Munich mayor.
