Thousands of beer lovers have descended on Munich for the start of the world’s largest folk festival.

Mayor Dieter Reiter officially started the 189th Oktoberfest at noon on Saturday when he inserted the tap into the first beer keg.

Servers immediately began ferrying trays — each carrying up to eight glass mugs — to tables and revellers started clinking their mugs.

The celebration runs until October 6 in 18 large tents covering the Theresienwiese fairground.

This year’s festival includes stepped-up security in the wake of a deadly knife attack in Solingen, a city 292 miles north west of Munich.

The violence on August 23 left three people dead and eight more wounded, and the so-called Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack.

As a result, organisers added metal detectors to the security queues for the first time in Oktoberfest’s history but it said there were no known threats.

Tens of thousands of people lined the streets early on Saturday to watch the opening parade as others raced to claim tables inside the tents.

Some six million visitors are expected over the festival’s 16 days — up to 600,000 each day — and can expect to shell out between 13.60 to 15.30 euros for a 1-litre mug of beer. This year’s prices are roughly 4% more than in 2023.

Mikael Caselitz, 24, was born and raised in Munich and has attended Oktoberfest for years. He said everyone should travel to Munich for the festival at least once in their lives.

“It can get really crowded and disgusting when people puke on the side of the road but overall it’s a really fun experience,” he said.

Ollie Standen woke up at 6am to get in line early for Oktoberfest, where the beer starts flowing at noon.

The 21-year-old from England is in Munich this year for a university exchange programme and a local friend told him he had to join the festivities.

“It’s a great German tradition and I’m excited to be here,” he said.

The event was skipped in 2020 and 2021 as authorities grappled with Covid-19 but returned in 2022.

The first Oktoberfest was held on October 17 1810 to celebrate the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria to Theresa of Saxony.

The venue, a meadow on the edge of Munich at the time, was called Theresienwiese to honour the bride. While that name remains, the start date has moved to September when the temperatures in Bavaria are usually warmer.