Oktoberfest is on the one hand the "Schützenfest Hannover", the world's largest marksmen's Fun Fair in Hannover with over 1 million visitors per year and on the other hand the Kiel Week, the world's biggest sailing event and Volksfest in Kiel, with about 3 million visitors. In recent years, the Oktoberfest runs for 16 days with the last day being the first Sunday in October. However, if day 16 falls before 3 October (German Unity Day), then the festival will continue until the 3rd. (see table below) Technical accidents have rarely occurred throughout Oktoberfest history. The rides are extensively tested in
Cannstatter Volksfest 1972 the Volksfest has been celebrated for 16 days. In the beginning, there had only been a few Volksfest-carnies and beer counters. They were moved to the edge of the festival in favour of the royal lounge and the stand for the dignitaries. In 1860 the layout of the festival was three main streets and numerous side streets to handle the yearly increasing crowds. Today with around 350 companies, the Cannstatter Volksfest is the biggest carnival-festival worldwide. 4 to 5 million visitors are attracted to it. King Wilhelm assigned his royal builder Nikolaus Thouret to create an emblem next to