The annual event attracts more than seven million international and national visitors at its peak. Oktoberfest is an important part of local culture, having been held since the year with intermissions. Other cities across the world also hold Oktoberfest celebrations that are modeled after the original Munich event.
During the event, large quantities of Oktoberfest Beer are consumed: in , 7. There is also a wide variety of traditional foods available. Oktoberfest originally took place in the day period leading up to the first Sunday in October. In , this longstanding schedule was modified in response to German reunification. As a result, if the first Sunday in October falls on the 1st or the 2nd, then the festival runs until 3 October German Unity Day which is a public holiday.
Thus, the festival now runs for 17 days when the first Sunday is 2 October and 18 days when it is 1 October. In , the festival lasted until the first Monday in October 4 October , to mark the event's bicentennial. The citizens of Munich were invited to attend the festivities held on the fields in front of the city gates to celebrate the royal event. The fields were named " Theresienwiese " "Theresa's Meadow" in honour of the Crown Princess, and have kept that name ever since, although the locals have abbreviated the name simply to Wiesn.
However, the origins of the horse races, and Oktoberfest itself, may have stemmed from proposals offered by Franz Baumgartner, a coachman and sergeant in the National Guard. The precise origins of the festival and horse races remain a matter of controversy. However, the decision to repeat the horse races, spectacle, and celebrations in launched what is now the annual Oktoberfest tradition. The fairground, once outside the city, was chosen due to its natural suitability, which it still holds today.
The Sendlinger Hill today Theresienhohe was used as a grandstand for 40, race spectators. The festival grounds remained undeveloped, except for the king's tent. The tastings of "Traiteurs" and other wine and beer took place above the visitors in the stands on the hill. Before the race started, a performance was held in homage to the bridegroom and of the royal family in the form of a train of 16 pairs of children dressed in Wittelsbach costumes, and costumes from the nine Bavarian townships and other regions.
