(19 Sep 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Munich, Germany – 19 September 2024
1. Various of Oktoberfest grounds
2. Fence
3. Various of CCTV cameras
4. Ferris wheel
5. Sign reading (German) "Oktoberfest MUNICH 21.09 – 06.10.2024"
6. SOUNDBITE (German) Dieter Reiter, Munich Mayor:
"And we have to try to avoid anyone taking a knife to Oktoberfest. But there’s no absolute guarantee because of course people also eat with knives and forks at the Wiesn (Oktoberfest) and it is of course possible to do so. Nevertheless, we have to prevent someone from bringing in a knife or other dangerous objects. And that was the reaction to Solingen in particular."
7. Various of Oktoberfest grounds as preparations get underway
8. SOUNDBITE (German) Dieter Reiter, Munich Mayor:
"It is just as safe as in previous years, or it is just as unsafe as normal life. Even if you walk through the city, something can happen to you."
9. Various of police and security
10. Various of Oktoberfest grounds
11. Sign reading (German) "Entrance"
12. Sign reading (English/German) "No! No backpacks & handbags"
13. SOUNDBITE (German) Clemens Baumgärtner, the head of Munich’s Department of Labour and Economy:
"The Wiesn is just as safe or unsafe as the public space is, but with the proviso that we have camera surveillance here, that we have access controls, that there is a fence around it. We have several thousand police officers in uniform and in plain clothes, and several thousand security staff. And I think that shows that the Wiesn is a very, very safe public space. I would say that it is not only the safest place in Germany during the 16 days of the Wiesn, but above all the safest folk festival in the world."
14. Various shots of Oktoberfest grounds as preparations get underway
15. Musicians playing
STORYLINE:
Security has tightened at Oktoberfest in the wake of last month’s deadly knife attack in Solingen in western Germany.
Officials warned revellers to expect longer lines 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 are no specific threats to the world’s largest folk festival, which begins Saturday with the traditional keg-tapping in Munich and runs through Oct. 6.
Some 6 million participants, many wearing traditional lederhosen and dirndl dresses, are expected over the course of the event.
The stepped-up security comes after an Aug. 23 attack in Solingen that left three dead and eight wounded. A 26-year-old Syrian suspect was arrested.
He was an asylum-seeker who was supposed to be deported to Bulgaria last year but reportedly disappeared for a time and avoided deportation. The Islamic State militant group has claimed responsibility for the violence, without providing evidence.
The violence left Germany shaken and pushed immigration back to the top of the country’s political agenda.
In response, the Interior Ministry extended temporary border controls to all nine of its frontiers this week.
The closures are set to last six months and are threatening to test European unity.
The effects of the Solingen attack — and other recent violence across Germany — will also be felt at Oktoberfest.
Hand-held metal detectors will be used by police and security staff on a random basis or following suspicious activity.
Festival-goers are prohibited from bringing knives, glass bottles and backpacks.
In addition to some 600 police officers and 2,000 security staff, more than 50 cameras will be spread across the grounds of the festival — which will be fenced off as well.
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