What Transpired at the Oktoberfest Festival

The 182nd Oktoberfest has finally come to an end. Considered as one of the biggest beer festivals in the world, the 16-day festival has gathered only 5.9 million visitors this year. This number has been the lowest since 2009.

The fall in attendance this year is said to be caused by the stricter border controls made effective in the middle of September and brought about by the migrant crisis. AFP reports that Deutsche Bahn suspended services to and from Austria and Hungary as a response to the border controls.

Due to the fewer number of visitors, officials of the Oktoberfest has considered the event as a 'relaxed autumn-Wiesn with a lot of locals'. Furthermore, a report stated that Oktoberfest chief Josef Schmid explained the reason for the drop in number. He said that "[a]lthough cooler, damper weather was partly to blame for the 400,000 drop to 5.9 million..., [the] newly-introduced border checks will also have kept some tourists from neighbouring countries from the festival.'

Official reports from the Oktoberfest website stated that the visitors were able to consume 114 oxen, 50 calves and 7.7 million liters of beer. The consumed beer is 400,000 glasses less as compared to last year. Furthermore, it is reported that six kinds of beer were served during the event. In relation to the drop of the number of visitors, there was also a drop in police reports and arrests.

Interesting facts gathered by the Oktoberfest committee and reported in their official site include the following:

Tent security stopped a 110,000 people from taking their mug home with them
Lost and found items included 600 passports, 580 wallets, 320 mobile phones, 220 bags and rucksacks, 18 cameras, 230 glasses and 45 pieces of jewelry and watches, 2 wedding rings, 1 brand new iPhone 6 and a 4 tickets for the sold out football match between Bayern Munich and Hannover 96, a dog, two dirndl-dresses, two pair of leathertrousers, and a 'GoPro Kamera,' among others.
No child was reported to missing.