Some guests suffered panic attacks. People found themselves pinned in the crowd, unable to move forward or back. It was pure luck that no one died in that crush.
Last season is remembered as one of the least safe in recent years for Oktoberfest overall. The festival grounds were closed entirely twice in 2025 due to overcrowding, and one day was almost completely lost. Theresienwiese was checked for several hours after a report of an alleged bomb threat on the festival grounds. Meanwhile, opening day turned out to be the hottest in the festival’s history, with temperatures reaching 31 degrees.
To prevent a repeat of such a situation, Munich authorities have significantly expanded the security protocols for Oktoberfest 2026. This year the festival will be held for the 191st time, and preparations were made with last year’s shortcomings in mind.
AI Will Help Spot Crowd Buildups Early
New surveillance cameras will be installed on the festival grounds, using artificial intelligence to analyze crowd density. The new analysis system builds so-called heat maps – colour-coded diagrams showing exactly where on the grounds the largest crowds are gathering. This will allow organizers to identify areas where a dangerous crush is forming ahead of time and direct visitors to other streets or exits.
The organizers have nicely dressed up and pompously presented a simple concept as a “thermal imager in a video camera.” Turns out that’s AI :-))) funny and not funny at the same time – ed.
Oktoberfest director Christian Scharpf explained the idea behind the innovation simply: “The system needs to show where something is brewing, at the earliest possible stage.”
According to him, it is precisely localized overcrowding situations like last year’s that the city intends to prevent first and foremost.
In 2025, police already used 54 surveillance cameras at Oktoberfest, 36 of which were installed for the first time. At that time, the state of Bavaria invested 350,000 euros in equipment and server infrastructure, and the footage was used mainly to prevent offences and investigate crimes.
The so-called AI function – more precisely, the thermal imaging in the surveillance cameras – planned for use in 2026 serves an entirely different purpose: tracking the density of visitor flows in real time, rather than recording violations that have already occurred.
A Security Centre Will Take the Place of the Lost-and-Found Office
City authorities have also rebuilt the service centre at Theresienwiese to give festival coordinators a more convenient space to work. In the rooms that previously housed the lost-and-found office, a security centre and a separate hall for the coordination team will now operate. All information about events on the ground, camera footage, and operational decisions will converge there.
The new workspace is designed for 34 workstations, including 30 digital ones. A screen measuring about 22 square metres will be able to display footage from multiple cameras and data from different sources simultaneously.
The coordination centre will also include:
- a server room;
- soundproofed areas for phone and radio communications;
- a separate booth for broadcasting announcements across the festival grounds.
Up to 35 staff members will be able to work there at once – noticeably more than the previous space allowed.
The Oktoberfest lost-and-found office has not disappeared, however – it will move to the Deutsches Museum Verkehrszentrum on Theresienhöhe and will be open daily from 1:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. during the festival.
Guests Will Also Be Directed Differently
In addition, city authorities will launch a “How to Wiesn” campaign. It will remind visitors that the festival grounds can be reached not only through the main entrance, offering alternative routes for when spaces become overcrowded – for example, via the Street of Attractions or the Oide Wiesn area. Munich authorities are also urging festival visitors to plan their visits on weekdays, when attendance will be lower.
To maintain order at and around Theresienwiese, around 600 police officers will again be deployed in 2026. Alongside the changes to festival organization come the usual Oktoberfest news items: this year a new water ride, “Fisherman’s,” and a swing ride called “Chaos Pendel,” which carries visitors to heights of up to 42 metres at speeds of up to 80 kilometres per hour, will get their own spots at the festival. Of 954 applications to take part in the festival, organizers approved 478, including 36 food and beverage businesses and 41 sideshow stalls.
This year Oktoberfest will open on 19 September and run through 4 October. As tradition dictates, the festival will draw several million visitors from around the world, which is precisely why the new video surveillance system and the rebuilt coordination centre are not a secondary detail, but a condition for Oktoberfest remaining what it was meant to be – a huge, but manageable, public festival.
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