Crowds rushed onto Munich's Theresienwiese on Saturday morning as the gates to Oktoberfest opened at 9 a.m.

Visitors hurried to secure spots in the beer tents, hours before the official opening keg tap at noon.

The scene of people streaming in has become a familiar tradition at the start of the festival.

The Munich festival runs for 16 days, from September 20 to October 5, and typically draws around six million visitors. Beer prices this year range between 14.50 and 15.80 euros per liter.