Auf Wiedersehen to 15 years of Australia’s Largest German Festival

Well, this is the biggest Wurst ever … and most definitely not the good kind.

All our pretzels were crossed that this message would never need to be written, but the time has come to announce the toughest decision of all – to say Auf Wiedersehen to The Only Oktoberfest Brisbane.

They talk about decisions not being made lightly, but this one takes the cake. The past few years have brought about the biggest challenges our industry has ever faced. But just last October the team were as excited as they’d ever been to bring back Australia’s most traditional Bavarian experience to the people of Brisbane, no less than three years in the making!

And what a cracking experience it was! We watched with tears of joy, steins of cold bier and fists full of hot pretzels as over 30,000 people descended on the Brisbane Showgrounds for six days of live Oompah music, fantastic Bier & the best German food this side of the equator.

However, over the past few months it has become clear that if the Festival were to take place in 2023 we would not be able to deliver the same authentic German experience you have come to expect and love. And if there’s one thing we won’t do, it’s compromise on your experience. So, it’s with a very heavy Gingerbread heart that we say Auf Wiedersehen for now (but with one very carefully trained German eye on the future).

When The Only Oktoberfest Brisbane was birthed back in 2008, we had no concept of the authentic, all-yodelling, all-dancing, bratwurst-eating, magnificent teenager it would become. Over the past 15 years, we’ve welcomed nearly half a million honorary Germans into our family, downed around 2 million bratwursts, munched on over 1.5 million pretzels, danced to nearly 800 hours of Oompah music and sipped on over a million traditionally brewed Biers. While Oktober 2023 will be tough, we say farewell knowing Brisbane was privy to the most authentic celebration of German culture outside of Bavaria.

We couldn’t have done this without the support of our family. And by family we mean …

• The nearly 500,000 patrons who donned their dirndls and lederhosen and joined us in celebration and song.
• The Brisbane City Council and Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner for their unwavering support.
• The Brisbane Showgrounds for providing the sort of venue that German dreams are made of.
• Our partners, suppliers, vendors, collaborators and friends.
• Our eternally-supportive team, many of whom have been with us since day one.
• And last, but definitely not least, the magnificent German community of Brisbane.

Our heartfelt thanks goes out to you all, and to your endless contributions which made Oktoberfest Brisbane Australia’s biggest authentic German celebration for 15 glorious years.

As a family, we can’t say goodbye without acknowledging what an extraordinary impact The Only Oktoberfest Brisbane has had on our lives. Personally, our own family would literally not exist if it wasn’t for an Oktoberfest – we met over a delicious salty pretzel at one almost twenty years ago. Together, we’ve worked to bring the magic of German culture to our adopted hometown of Brisbane, and even made two little Kinder {kids} along the way. And for this we are deeply and eternally grateful.

Relive the sights and sounds of Oktoberfest Brisbane by watching the 2022 after video now at www.OktoberfestBrisbane.com.au/#relive

Until next time.

Prost! 

Kim and Boris Zoulek
Festival Directors 
Oktoberfest Brisbane

STATEMENT FRI 17 FEB 2023