Munich’s Oktoberfest roars to life as the mayor taps the first keg

MUNICH (AP) — Munich's Oktoberfest kicked off Saturday with the city's mayor tapping the first keg of beer and opening the 191st edition of the world's largest folk festival.

Mayor Dominik Krause put the first keg on tap with only two strokes and the traditional cry of “O’zapft is” — or “It's been tapped.”

Thousands of revelers — the women dressed in Bavarian dirndls, the men in lederhosen — stormed the beer tents on Munich's Theresienwiese fairground in the morning to get a good spot on the benches. To the sounds of brass music and the taste of freshly tapped beer, they soon started singing, dancing and swaying.

Besides beer, pretzels, pork roast and sausages were also sought-after delicacies.

Over the course of 16 days, through Oct. 4, some 6 million visitors are expected at the Oktoberfest. The majority of them come from Munich and southern Germany. However, millions of guests also travel from other parts of Germany and from around the world.

German authorities tightened security measures, after the festival last year had to close temporarily due to overcrowding. AI-powered cameras were installed for this year's fest to detect large crowds early on, the German news agency dpa reported.

A ban on knives and flying objects — especially drones — was also in effect. There are entry checks, large bags are prohibited — and smoking marijuana is not allowed. About 600 police officers are on duty around the festival in addition to Bavarian riot police, specialized pickpocket investigators, and international task forces from eight countries, dpa reported.

A ferris wheel is seen at the 191st Oktoberfest beer festival in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Sept.19, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

People run to enter the 191st Oktoberfest beer festival in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Sept.19, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

People wear traditional costumes in the Oktoberfest parade at the 191st Oktoberfest beer festival in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Sept.19, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Visitors take pictures of the Oktoberfest parade at the 191st Oktoberfest beer festival in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Sept.19, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

People wear traditional costumes in the Oktoberfest parade at the 191st Oktoberfest beer festival in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Sept.19, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

MILAN (AP) — Sandro Mazzola, the former Inter Milan captain who was one of Italy’s most acclaimed players, has died. He was 83.

His death was announced on Saturday by Inter, the soccer club where he spent his entire 17-year playing career. No cause of death was given but Mazzola had been suffering from a long, unspecified illness.

“FC Internazionale Milano, its President Giuseppe Marotta, Vice President Javier Zanetti, head coach Cristian Chivu and his staff, the players, and everyone at Inter mourn with profound sorrow the passing of Sandro Mazzola, a Nerazzurri and world football legend,” Inter said in an emotional statement.

“Sandro Mazzola was one of the greatest footballers in history. Not only in the history of the Nerazzurri.”

A product of the Inter youth academy, Mazzola made his Serie A debut as a teenager in 1961, against Juventus, scoring his team’s only goal in a 9–1 rout.

Mazzola, an attacking midfielder or second striker, went on to net 158 goals in 565 matches for Inter, helping the Nerazzurri to four Serie A titles and two European Cups.

He also won the European Championship with Italy in 1968. Mazzola, who scored 22 goals in 70 matches for the Azzurri, played in three World Cups, reaching the final with Italy in 1970.

Mazzola was runner-up in the 1971 Ballon d’Or, behind soccer great Johan Cruyff.

“The passing of Sandro Mazzola is a source of deep sorrow for me and for all of Italian soccer," said Giovanni Malagò, president of the Italian soccer federation. "We have lost a legend, one of the figures who helped make our soccer great on the global stage.

“Sandro was an icon, a captain, and a champion who defined an era and became part of our collective memory.”

Mazzola was the son of another iconic player, Valentino Mazzola, who died in the Superga air disaster along with the whole ‘Grande Torino’ team in 1949, when Sandro was 6 years old.

“He was Valentino’s son — a man who managed to turn a monumental surname into an equally magnificent legacy, built on talent, personality, courage, and extraordinary humanity,” Malagò said.

"I like to think that he has finally reunited with his father and with those champions alongside whom he wrote one of the finest chapters in the history of Italian soccer.”

After Mazzola scored two goals to help Inter beat Real Madrid 3-1 in the 1964 European final, Real Madrid star Ferenc Puskás told him “You are worthy of your father Valentino" as the duo swapped shirts.

Mazzola was top scorer in the competition that season, and top scorer in Serie A in the following season.

After retiring in 1977, Mazzola held an executive position at Inter and then went on to become the team's sporting director from 1995 to 1999.

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FILE - Inter Milan's former players Sandro Mazzola, second left, with Jair of Brazil, left, Mario Corso and Luis Suarez, right, prior to the start of the Champions League first knockout round, second leg soccer match between Inter and Ajax at the San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, March 14, 2006. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File)