The first Oktoberfest was held in 1810 to celebrate the wedding of Prince Ludwig, who later became King Ludwig I of Bavaria. The celebration featured horse races, which were repeated the following year, and the festival became an annual event. Beer stands were introduced in 1818, and these were changed to the now-famous beer tents in 1896. The drink is a major feature of the event, and this year's visitors are expected to top last year's numbers of 5 million liters of beer and 650,000 pork sausages consumed.

首届“啤酒节”于1810年举行，为了庆祝路德维格王子的婚礼，嗣后他成了巴伐利亚路德维格一世国王。赛马是庆祝活动的特色，来年亦再度举行，此节日因而成为一年一度例行的大事。啤酒摊首次引入是在1818年，到了1896年这些摊位已成为今日盛名远扬的啤酒棚。喝啤酒是这个节庆的主要特色，去年游客饮用了超过500万公升的啤酒，吃掉了65万条以上的猪肉香肠，预计今年的游客将超过去年的消费数字。