Oktoberfest ends with a bang as clear-up begins

Oktoberfest ends with the traditional gun salute. Picture: Getty

SIXTEEN days of beer-soaked revelry have come to a close with the traditional gun salute that heralds the end of Munich’s annual Oktoberfest.

Authorities say some 6.3 million visitors came to this year’s event which ended Sunday, and 6.5 million two-pint mugs of beer were drunk.

Police recorded a drop in crime this year to 1,290 offences, down from 1,525 in 2013.

The incidents included at least one attempted heist of a trolley full of beer mugs and the destruction of a “monster” in a fairground ghost train by a visitor who had taken offence at being spooked.

The lost property office declared it had received, among other items, 230 pairs of spectacles, two wedding rings, a set of dentures, a French horn, and a ball and chain.