Munich beer festival ups prices for 200th edition

Germany's world-famous Oktoberfest beer festival said Wednesday that it has upped the price for its huge mugs of amber nectar to almost nine euros for this year's 200th anniversary event.

A "Mass" ("measure") of beer, a litre, will cost between 8.30 euros and 8.90 euros at the event in the southern German city of Munich from September 18 to October 4, up from between 8.10 euros and 8.60 euros last year.

Last year the festival attracted 5.7 million visitors from around the world, down from six million in 2008 because of the recession, consuming between them 6.5 million litres of beer.

This year's edition will be one day longer than usual and feature a historic reconstruction of the festival in former centuries including an old Oktoberfest tent and twice-daily horse races.