Bavaria on Tuesday cancelled the iconic Oktoberfest for the first time since World War II dealing a fresh blow to Germany’s beer industry already hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic.
The event, which takes place annually from late September to October, was expected to draw six million visitors, but it would be too dangerous “as long as there is no vaccine”, Bavaria state premier Markus Soeder said.
Even with masks and social distancing, the threat of contagion was too high.
“Living with the coronavirus means living carefully,” he said.
This year marks the first time that Germany will have to do without the festival since the last world war.
But Oktoberfest has previously fallen victim to other epidemics — cholera kept the beer tents empty in 1854 and 1873.
From hops growers to breweries, the German beer industry had already been staring at a morose season.
But the Oktoberfest cancellation was a further devastating blow with an impact stretching beyond the festival to the gastronomy and hospitality sectors.
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