Revellers raise their beer steins to return of Oktoberfest after pandemic pause

Visitors lift glasses of beer during the opening of the 186th ‘Oktoberfest’ beer festival in Munich, Germany in 2019 (Matthias Schrader/AP)

The annual Oktoberfest festival is on again for this autumn, the German city of Munich said, following a two-year pause due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Dieter Reiter, the mayor of the Bavarian capital, said the popular beer festival will be held without restrictions from September 17 to October 3, Germany’s national day.