World’s Biggest Beer Festivals Start

Germany celebrates its brewing prowess with Oktoberfests across the land. bmi regional, the UK’s most punctual airline, flies from Bristol to the cities with two of the biggest and best beer festivals in Germany: Munich and Hannover. And, despite the fact that it is still September, Oktoberfest starts this weekend!

This Saturday, 21September, sees the start of the 180th Munich Oktoberfest (www.oktoberfest.de) which features 14 large ‘tents’ serving beers. The tents are colossal – some of them boast almost 6,000 inside seats in addition to over 1,000 standing spots. Munich Oktoberfest prides itself on its entertainment with a packed schedule of traditional live music from Bavarian bands, costume parades and even child discounts on fairground rides and performances on Tuesdays 1 and 8 October.

Running from 21 September to 6 0ctober, all tents at Munich Oktoberfest open at either 9am or 10am and close at 11:30pm, with last orders at 10:30pm.

Hannover Oktoberfest is the world’s second largest beer festival starts. It starts ten days after Munich and runs until 13 October. Two large tents can seat a thousand beer drinkers from the millions of visitors over this 16-day event, with doors open from 2pm until 11pm, Monday to Thursday and until midnight, Friday to Sunday. Wednesdays 2 and 9 October are family days featuring children’s discos and entertainment, and the night skies come alive at 9.45pm on 27 September, 4 and 11 October with breathtaking fireworks all over the city centre.