 The Munich Oktoberfest is the biggest public festival in the
world and will be held in 2003 for the 170th time. Each year, the
Oktoberfest is attended by around 6 million visitors, who drink around 5
million liters of beer and consume over 200,000 pairs of pork sausages -
mostly in the "beer tents" put up by the traditional Munich
breweries（酿酒厂）.
At the foot of the Bavaria statue, the huge Oktoberfest grounds also
provide carousels（喧闹的酒会）, roller coasters（过山车） and all the spectacular fun
of the fair for the enjoyment and excitement of visitors of all ages.
The festivities are accompanied by a program of events, including the
Grand Entry of the Oktoberfest Landlords and Breweries and the Costume and
Riflemen's Procession.
The History of the Oktoberfest dates back to the 19th century. Crown
Prince Ludwig, later to become King Ludwig I, was married to Princess
Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen on 12th October 1810. The citizens of
Munich were invited to attend the festivities held on the fields in front
of the city gates to celebrate the happy royal event.
Horse races in the presence of the Royal Family marked the close of the
event that was celebrated as a festival for the whole of Bavaria. The
decision to repeat the horse races in the subsequent year gave rise to the
tradition of the Oktoberfest.
In 1811 an added feature to the horse
races was the first Agricultural Show, designed to boost Bavarian
agriculture
The horse races, which were the oldest and the most popular event of
the festival are no longer held today. But the Agricultural Show is still
held every three years during the Oktoberfest on the southern part of the
festival grounds.
In the first few decades the choice of amusements
was sparse. The first carousel and two swings were set up in 1818.
Visitors were able to quench their thirst at small beer stands which grew
rapidly in number. In 1896 the beer stands were replaced by the first beer
tents and halls set up by enterprising landlords with the backing of the
breweries.
The remainder of the festival site was taken up by a fun-fair（游乐场）. The
range of carousels etc. on offer was already increasing rapidly in the
1870s as the fairground（露天市场）trade continued to grow and develop in
Germany.
Today, the Oktoberfest is the largest festival in the
world, with an international flavor characteristic of the 21th century:
some 6 million visitors from all around the world converge on the
Oktoberfest each year.
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