BERLIN — Oktoberfest celebrations got underway Saturday in Munich with the traditional tapping of a keg and the cry of “O’zapft is!” – “It’s tapped!” – but this year’s festival is very non-traditional and highly regulated due to coronavirus concerns.

What You Need To Know

  • Oktoberfest celebrations got underway Saturday in Munich

  • The official Oktoberfest was been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic

  • Dozens of Munich's beer halls and other establishments are hosting their own, smaller parties that follow public health guidelines

  • Last year's Oktoberfest saw 6.3 million guests flock to Munich for the celebration

The official Oktoberfest has been cancelled, so there’s no huge tents full of people or hundreds of stands selling food. Instead, 50 of the southern German city’s beer halls and other establishments are hosting their own, smaller parties that follow guidelines on mask wearing, social distancing and other restrictions.

Former Mayor Christian Ude got the party started, hammering a tap into a 5 gallon keg – a tenth of the size of the Oktoberfest norm – at the Schillerbraeu beer hall while dressed in Bavarian lederhosen leather pants and wearing a protective mask.

Meantime, police patrolled the regular festival grounds to make sure no spontaneous parties broke out.

The loss of Oktoberfest is a huge hit for the Bavarian city, which saw 6.3 million guests flood in last year for the festival’s 186th year. They were served about 15.5 million pints of beer over 16 days and consumed 124 oxen, among other traditional foods.

This year’s toned-down celebrations run through Oct. 4.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.