German police restrict festival entry in Stuttgart and Munich as crowds reach 80,000

Access restrictions in Stuttgart

Police in Stuttgart temporarily blocked multiple access points to the Cannstatter Wasen festival grounds on Saturday afternoon to stem an influx of visitors. Access to the site was restricted exclusively to the main entrance on Mercedesstrasse, while entry pathways through pedestrian underpasses and the Kraemermarkt fair area were completely shut down. Police officials took action after headcounts showed approximately 80,000 people gathering on the grounds during the early afternoon. Of that total, around 60,000 visitors entered the Cannstatter Volksfest, while another 19,000 attended the concurrent Agricultural Festival (Landwirtschaftliches Hauptfest). A police spokesperson emphasized that the festival grounds had not reached their maximum capacity limit, explaining that the closures were implemented solely to slow the incoming rate of attendees.

Transport warnings and coordinated reopening

The influx prompted transit authorities in Stuttgart to intervene directly across local transport networks. During the late afternoon, public transport operators broadcast audio announcements inside Stadtbahn light rail trains and posted written notices across digital displays, asking passengers to avoid traveling to the Wasen grounds due to extensive overcrowding. The transport warnings followed reports that the festival area was operating near its intake threshold. Once the volume of arriving visitors abated later in the day, authorities dismantled the temporary barriers. By Saturday evening, police resumed admitting visitors across all previously closed entrances in a coordinated manner.

Overcrowding at Munich Oktoberfest

Parallel crowd control measures occurred at the Oktoberfest in Munich on Saturday as the festival entered its final two days before closing on Sunday. With the public holiday attracting dense crowds to the Theresienwiese, festival management and municipal authorities issued public alerts about severe congestion. Many of the large beer tents closed to new entrants starting at noon after reaching maximum capacity. Surrounding beer gardens filled up shortly afterward and barred further entry. Festival officials noted that the prospect of unreserved seating inside the tents had driven many attendees to arrive early in the day.

The City of Munich published urgent notices on social media urging prospective festival-goers to postpone their visits.

There are currently many guests on the Wiesn, please come back at a later time.

A municipal spokesperson warned that the two main entrances to the Theresienwiese faced imminent temporary closure, instructing incoming attendees to navigate toward side entrances instead.

Previous weekend security protocols

The holiday closures mirrored crowd management actions taken during the previous Saturday of the Munich festival. During that middle festival weekend, severe congestion formed later in the day, culminating at approximately 16:45 during the changeover period for table reservations. Organizers had responded by shutting the two main entrances and broadcasting crowd control announcements in German, English, and Italian to break up bottlenecks at the gates. The congestion subsequently cleared without further disruption. Oktoberfest director Christian Scharpf expressed satisfaction with the outcome, stating that the festival's updated security concept operated effectively.