Oktoberfest beer-drinkers celebrate half time

STORY: The two and a half week long party which ends on October 3 enjoys worldwide popularity, with the largest percentage of foreign visitors coming from the United States, Austria, Italy and France, the city of Munich said.

City officials also said wearing the traditional Bavarian outfit of lederhosen for men and dirndl skirts for women had become part of the “Oktoberfest feeling” for many foreign visitors.

The Oktoberfest has its origins in a horse race that took place in 1810 to celebrate the wedding of Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen and attracts some six million visitors every year.