Beer flows and crowds descend on Munich for the official start of Oktoberfest

People run to enter the 188th Oktoberfest beer festival in Munich, Germany (Matthias Schrader/AP)

The beer is flowing and millions of people are descending on the Bavarian capital to celebrate the official opening of Oktoberfest.

With the traditional cry of “O’zapft is” – “It’s tapped” – mayor Dieter Reiter inserted the tap in the first keg at noon on Saturday, officially opening the 18-day festivities.