Oktoberfest Ends With the Traditional Bavarian Salute

The 190th Oktoberfest came to a close Sunday, wrapping up the world’s largest folk festival with the traditional Bavarian marksmen’s gun salute in Munich, Matthias Schrader reported for the Associated Press (AP).

The 190th Oktoberfest came to a close this Sunday. (Photo: Oktoberfest Facebook)

Roughly 6.5 million visitors attended between Sept. 20 and Sunday, according to German news agency Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA).

Among them was Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Austrian-born former governor of California, who spontaneously conducted a live band and led the crowd in song inside a beer tent on Sept. 26.

The fairgrounds were briefly closed on Wednesday after police responded to a bomb threat linked to an explosion elsewhere in Munich.

During the investigation, police said a letter written by the suspect contained a “non-specific” threat of explosives related to Oktoberfest.

Images showed officers in fluorescent vests patrolling near-empty pathways lined with roller coasters and rides. Revelers were allowed to return that evening once the area was deemed safe.

Oktoberfest has faced tragedy before.

On Sept. 26, 1980, a neo-Nazi bombing killed 12 people, including three children and the attacker, Gundolf Köhler, a student and supporter of a banned far-right group. More than 200 others were wounded.