Was Oktoberfest canceled in 2023 because the alcohol and beer served go against Islam's rules, and most of the citizens in Munich, Germany, are Muslims? Neither of these claims is true: The Munich 2023 Oktoberfest was not canceled. According to the official Oktoberfest website, it was held from September 16 to October 3, 2023. Regarding religious affiliations, official data show that Munich's Muslim population makes up only 8% of the total.
The claim appeared in a video on TikTok (archived here) published by @haribda08 on September 23, 2023.
The Bulgarian text overlay, which was translated by Lead Stories staff, reads:
There will be no Oktoberfest this year, as beer and any alcohol are against the religion of most people in Munich.
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Thu Sep 28 07:49:55 2023 UTC)
The opening of the 2023 Oktoberfest in Munich took place almost a week before the video's claim was published. The program posted on the official city website, as well as on the website of the event itself, provides information about both the attractions and the places where beer is served. The Oktoberfest website also gives information about the alcohol and beer types sold and their prices. Many videos published after and on the event's opening day confirm the information.
The claim in the video suggested there was no Oktoberfest in 2023 due to an alleged predominant number of Muslim citizens in the German city of Munich, as drinking alcohol is considered forbidden in Islam.
However, official statistics posted on the city's website refute this claim. According to published data, by December 31, 2022, the city's population was 1,588,330, with 63.0% not affiliated with any religion. The largest religious groups in the city are the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches, with 25.9%. According to data from the Munich Council of Religions website, the city's Muslim population makes up as much as 8% of the city's population.
