The Bavarian government is considering a blanket ban on backpacks during Oktoberfest after several terrorist attacks have rocked the region over the past week.
By Chris Tomlinson | 26 July 2016
BREITBART — Oktoberfest in Munich is the largest and most well attended folk and beer festival in the world, attracting 5.9 million visitors last year. Although the visitors last year numbered in the millions, there was a 400,000 person decrease from the previous year, largely blamed on tight border controls due to the migrant crisis.
Politicians are now concerned more than ever that a potential terror attack will occur during the festival, and some are considering a ban on all backpacks at the event in an effort to increase safety, Bayerischer Rundfunk reports.
For Dieter Reiter, mayor of Munich, the Ansbach failed suicide bombing by a Syrian migrant outside a music festival has been a wake up call. Mr. Reiter now proposes a total ban on backpacks at Oktoberfest, the biggest event of the German calendar year, in order to prevent the same type of attack from occurring. …
While the ban on backpacks is currently only being considered, the mayor has said that all bags belonging to guests entering the Oktoberfest area will be subject to much more thorough searches than in the past. …
The mayor also spoke about the aftermath of the Ansbach and Munich terror attacks. “It is a really bad time. A great depression has overcome the population in Bavaria,” he said. …
Last year the Munich police acted to keep revelers at the event separate from the new migrants, who at the time were coming into Germany by the thousands every day. The strong police presence will likely be intensified this year due to European police agencies like Europol warning that terror attacks are likely to increase. […]
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