--- description: The German festival is now a worldwide phenomenon celebrating Bavarian culture. Here's everything you need to know about the celebration. title: Oktoberfest: Everything You Need to Know About the Festival image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf84db4e9883f9aa2/6988de1586f68ed61c6e6727/gettyimages-847773554.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Holidays](/tag/holidays/) ## Holidays Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Everything You Need to Know About Oktoberfest by [Lisa Marie Segarra](/author/lisa-marie-segarra/) ## Lisa Marie Segarra Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 16, 2017 7:43 PM CUT  Revelers receive free beer in the Paulaner tent on the first day of the 2017 Oktoberfest beer fest on September 16, 2017 in Munich, Germany. Oktoberfest is the world's largest beer celebration and typically draws over six million visitors over its three-week run. Oktoberfest includes massive beer tents, each run by a different Bavarian brewer, as well as amusement rides and activities. Revelers receive free beer in the Paulaner tent on the first day of the 2017 Oktoberfest beer fest on September 16, 2017 in Munich, Germany. Oktoberfest is the world's largest beer celebration and typically draws over six million visitors over its three-week run. Oktoberfest includes massive beer tents, each run by a different Bavarian brewer, as well as amusement rides and activities.Photograph by Philipp Guelland—Getty by [Lisa Marie Segarra](/author/lisa-marie-segarra/) ## Lisa Marie Segarra Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 16, 2017 7:43 PM CUT [Oktoberfest](http://time.com/vault/issue/1964-02-28/page/46/ "undefined") is upon us as the first day began Sept. 16\. The [German](http://www.thedrive.com/sheetmetal/13746/germany-drafts-ethics-rules-for-self-driving-cars "undefined") festival is now a worldwide phenomenon celebrating Bavarian culture and flowing pints of beer. Here’s everything you need to know about the celebration. ## When is it? Oktoberfest runs from Sept. 16 to Oct. 3 this year, [according to Munich’s website.](https://www.oktoberfest.de/en/article/Oktoberfest+2017/About+the+Oktoberfest/Oktoberfest-Calendar+2017/4928/ "undefined") It normally runs for 16 days with the last day being the first Sunday in October. However, if that 16 days falls before Oct. 3, it will last 17 or 18 days. ## Why is it celebrated? Oktoberfest [began as a wedding celebration more than 200 years ago ](http://time.com/4065335/oktoberfest-history/ "undefined")when Bavaria’s Crown Prince Ludwig married Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen on Oct. 12, 1810\. The wedding was celebrated with multiple days of drinking, feasting and horse races. The celebration then became an annual event. ## Where is it celebrated? Oktoberfest celebrations can be found all over the world, but the main event is in [Munich, Germany,](http://time.com/money/3900319/airport-amenities-10-best/item/beer-garden-at-munich-international-airport/ "undefined") where the first Oktoberfest was held. ## How is it celebrated? Oktoberfest is often associated with beer, but the [festival’s traditions go beyond that](http://content.time.com/time/travel/article/0,31542,2019555,00.html "undefined"). While the beer tents, of course, provide drinks, they also play only traditional Bavarian music. The original six Munich breweries still provide the beer. You can also catch people in traditional Bavarian clothing, dirndls and lederhosen. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4944930/what-is-oktoberfest/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4944930/what-is-oktoberfest/"},"headline":"Everything You Need to Know About Oktoberfest","datePublished":"2017-09-16T19:43:01.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T17:27:27.641Z","description":"This year's celebration begins Sept. 16","url":"https://time.com/4944930/what-is-oktoberfest/","keywords":["Holidays","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf84db4e9883f9aa2/6988de1586f68ed61c6e6727/gettyimages-847773554.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lisa Marie Segarra","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/lisa-marie-segarra/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf84db4e9883f9aa2/6988de1586f68ed61c6e6727/gettyimages-847773554.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Oktoberfest 2017","caption":"Oktoberfest 2017","creditText":"Photograph by Philipp Guelland—Getty","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/holidays/","name":"Holidays"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4944930/what-is-oktoberfest/","name":"Everything You Need to Know About Oktoberfest"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Alcohol Is Good for Your Heart—Most of the Time","description":"A new study of nearly two million people published in The BMJ adds more evidence that moderate amounts of alcohol appear to be healthy for most heart conditions—but not all of them","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/fZGLBSul/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2017-03-23T17:23:18.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/fZGLBSul.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4944930/what-is-oktoberfest/","duration":"PT1M13S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4944930/what-is-oktoberfest/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```