The festival organiser promised that it would be “the safest place in Germany”.
Security has been tightened at Germany’s legendary Oktoberfest as the country deals with the aftermath of a deadly knife attack in Solingen, western Germany, in August.
Ahead of the event, which is expected to attract some six million visitors, authorities have warned attendees to expect longer queues at entry points as metal detectors will be deployed for the first time in the Bavarian beer festival’s 189-year history.
Authorities say there is no particular threat to the world’s largest folk festival, which begins this Saturday and lasts 16 days.
The increased security comes after an attack that left three dead and eight injured in the city of Solingen on August 23.
A 26-year-old Syrian suspect has been charged with carrying out the attack; he was an asylum seeker who allegedly fled after his application was rejected and before he could be deported to Bulgaria.
The Islamic State group (IS) claimed responsibility for the rampage, but provided no evidence.
The violence has shaken Germany and put immigration back at the top of the country’s political agenda. In response, the Interior Ministry extended temporary border controls to all nine of the country’s borders this week. The closures are expected to last six months and threaten to test European unity.
The effects of the Solingen attack and other recent violence in Germany will also be felt at Oktoberfest. For the first time, hand-held metal detectors will be used at the festival. Police and security personnel will use them randomly or in case of suspicious activity. Festival-goers will be prohibited from bringing knives, glass bottles and backpacks.
In addition to some 600 police officers and 2,000 security guards, more than 50 cameras will be installed on the festival site, which will be fenced off.
“We had to react to the fact that knife attacks have increased in recent weeks and months,” Munich Mayor Dieter Reiter told The Associated Press during a media tour of the festival site. “We will do everything in our power to ensure that no one comes to Oktoberfest with a knife or other dangerous weapons.”
Oktoberfest is no stranger to heightened security. In 2016, authorities implemented stricter measures in response to a series of attacks in which a German teenager shot dead nine people in a Munich shopping mall before killing himself.
Peter Neumann, professor of security studies at King’s College London, said Oktoberfest officials were taking sensible approaches to security in light of Solingen and other recent foiled plots across Europe.
Extremists and groups like the Islamic State (IS) seek out locations where an attack would make international headlines and “would cause much terror”he said.
French authorities say they have foiled three plots to attack the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris and other cities hosting the summer events, including plans to attack “Israeli institutions or representatives of Israel in Paris.”
In Austria, authorities last month arrested a 19-year-old man who planned to attack Taylor Swift’s now-canceled concerts in Vienna, part of a plan to kill tens of thousands of fans that was allegedly inspired by IS.
ADVERTISEMENT“These are global events that should attract a lot of attention.”Neumann told The Associated Press, explaining that ISIS had grown during the war between Israel and Hamas.
The group even made reference to the war when it claimed responsibility for the violence in Solingen, saying the attacker targeted Christians and that as “Islamic State soldier”he had led the attacks “to avenge the Muslims in Palestine and everywhere.”
Although Oktoberfest is a difficult event for the police to completely secure, the organizers are confident that it can be done.
Festival organizer Clemens Baumgärtner promised that it would be a safe public space, perhaps “the safest place in Germany”.
ADVERTISEMENTBut Peter Neumann is more optimistic about what can be done.
“It’s an iconic event and it’s exactly the kind of event they would like to hit.”he said. “But with millions of people – drunk people to be honest – running around, it’s really difficult to control every movement.”
