Oktoberfest service workers launch campaign for respect and equality
Service workers at Munich’s Oktoberfest have launched “Staff Against the Right”, saying racist, discriminatory and sexist incidents are not always reflected in official figures. Organisers and police have reported a generally peaceful festival, but authorities had recorded about 470 offences by the halfway point, including assault and sexual harassment.
Service workers at Munich’s Oktoberfest have launched an initiative calling for greater respect at the festival, saying discriminatory incidents can go unreported despite positive official assessments of the event. The campaign, called “Staff Against the Right”, was announced in videos posted on Instagram and TikTok. Its supporters said they had observed that certain comments were increasingly treated as acceptable and attracted less public criticism.
The workers linked the initiative partly to their own experiences at the festival and to electoral gains by the far-right Alternative for Germany in Saxony-Anhalt. They said the broader political climate suggested that right-wing views were gaining social acceptance. The campaign comes as organisers and officials have described the first half of the festival as largely peaceful.
Oktoberfest Director Christian Scharpf said the opening week had passed calmly, while Munich Deputy Mayor Verena Dietl praised what she called a good and harmonious atmosphere. Bavaria’s public broadcaster quoted a spokesperson for Oktoberfest vendors as saying that the festival community had always rejected, and continued to reject, discrimination, racism and sexism in the strongest terms. Campaign supporters, however, said more should be done to address incidents affecting staff.
The festival is heavily monitored. Police use 56 CCTV cameras, while about 600 officers and thousands of private security staff patrol the grounds. Even so, police had recorded around 470 offences by the halfway point, including reports involving assault, sexual harassment and upskirting.
The service workers said some situations did not appear in official statistics. They argued that their proximity to visitors placed them at the centre of incidents that can be difficult to report or may not meet the threshold for formal complaints. Oktoberfest is described as the world’s largest folk festival and attracts millions of visitors.
Organisers estimated attendance at about 3.8 million people halfway through the event. The 16-day festival is scheduled to end on October 4.
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