Worldwide Oktoberfest parties: our guide

If you can’t make it to the original in Munich – and you can’t even make it to one of the UK Oktoberfest parties, then you might be interested in our list of worldwide Oktoberfest parties. After all, who knows where you might be when the end of September rolls around? One thing’s for sure: if you can manage to be States-side, you’re in for a treat

America’s Oktoberfest Zinzinnati

For a weekend in September, Munich’s twinned city Cincinnati goes crazy for all things German – even adapting its name to suit German pronunciation! There was a lot of immigration from the old country to the mid-West, so you can bet your sweet kister that Ohio is a good place to get proper beer and some excellent Teutonic food. With over half-a-million visitors, Zinzinnati is never lacking in atmosphere either.

Soulard Oktoberfest, St. Louis

The US is in fact not at all short on Oktoberfest events and German beer festivals – as this website about Oktoberfests in the USA  proves. The Soulard Oktoberfest of St. Louis, Misouri, nevertheless stands out due to its size and its typically American take on the Oktoberfest: sausage-eating contests and the Miss Oktoberfest competition, anyone?

Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest

Canada, too, has plenty of German immigrant stock, which helps to explain the passion which goes into the Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest Canada. As a neat way of integrating the tradition into its new surroundings, the fest is timed with Canadian Thanksgiving.

Oktoberfest Blumenau

“Blumenau” – sounds German, right? Well, it is, although it’s in Brazil. Founded by German settlers, Blumenau would look and feel like a picture-book Teutonic town if it weren’t for the astoundingly good weather! In any case, Blumenau’s Oktoberfest has been going for over twenty years now and is South America’s biggest by far.

A few other big worldwide Oktoberfests are held due to German immigration, too – most notably the Windhoek Oktoberfest in Namibia, which was a German colony until 1918. There’s still a sizeable German community left over, gathered around the Sport Klub Windhoek, who put on the festival despite the average temperatures of up to 35°C. Another former German colony is the Chinese city of Qingdao, which puts on a German beer festival every year to coincide with the Wiesn.

Australia, too, has never been short on German immigration, and both Sydney and Melbourne do this fact justice with some exciting Oktoberfest Australia events. The Moscow Oktoberfest Russia should not be underestimate for true Bavarian-style drinking and eating, either. One of the odder worldwide locations for an Oktoberfest is Tabyeh in Palestine, which has no great tradition of German immigration, but which nonetheless has its own special brew.

So wherever you are in the world this September, you’re likely to find somewhere where you can lift your Krug in a Prosit der Gemütlichkeit.