Oktoberfest protested by serving orange juice

ANTALYA - Anatolia News Agency

Group members serve orange juice to citizens to protest the Oktoberfest. DHA photo

A group of protestors have demonstrated against Antalya’s fourth-annual Oktoberfest by serving orange juices. The group, carrying a photograph of Antalya Mayor Mustafa Akaydın and banners bearing slogans, gathered in the city center to protest the event, which will begin on Sept. 20 and continue through Sept. 23. Shouting slogans, the protestors said that the festival should not be held at a time when Turkey is experiencing a rise in terrorist violence.

The festival has been known for scandals in the past, Kutup Yıldızı Youth Association Chairman Melikşah Tuğ said, speaking on behalf of the protestors. “The Antalya Metropolitan Municipality has made a statement saying that the organizing company did not want to cancel the festival. In this case, we call on the municipality to announce to the public that they will not support the festival. The Oktoberfest project belongs to the metropolitan municipality, and it is not easy to organize such an event without the support and sponsorship of the municipality,” Tuğ said.

After making a public statement, the protestors served orange juices to citizens on the street.
Meanwhile, more than six million revelers from around the globe will be in Munich for the original Oktoberfest, the world’s biggest beer festival, complete with lederhosen, pretzels and plenty of the amber nectar, Agence France-Presse has reported.

This year’s party stretches over 26 hectares, with around 12,000 waiters and waitresses expected to serve more than seven million “mass” to punters in 35 tents, the largest of which seats 10,000.