Hundreds rush to grab their pint as Oktoberfest opens in Munich

Around 6 million visitors are expected at the festival grounds in Munich before the Oktoberfest ends on Oct. 7 (Photo: AFP)

Some 600 police officers and hundreds of stewards will keep order at the fenced-off grounds over the 16 days of the event (Photo: AFP)

Mayor Dieter Reiter inserted the tap in the first keg on Saturday with two blows of a hammer and the cry of “O’zapft is” — “it’s tapped" (Photo: AP)

Hundreds of thousands of litres of beer on tap, traditional clothes: a party atmosphere once again grips Munich at the opening of the 185th beer festival (or Oktoberfest), which will last two weeks (Photo: AP)

Increased security costs this year are believed to be a factor for higher cost of beer (Photo: AP)

Drinking beer at the fest requires strong wrists as one has to drink from liter mugs held only by the handle (Photo: AP)

Beer prices are up again, with a liter (2-pint) mug costing up to 11.50 euros ($13.50) — a 55-cent increase over last year (Photo: AP)

Hundreds of visitors, most of them wearing traditional lederhosen or dirndls, waited to be let in the festival grounds early Saturday morning ahead of the official keg-tapping at noon (Photo: AP)