Munich Oktoberfest ride distributes shorts amid upskirting concerns

Reports on Oct 3, the final day of Munich’s Oktoberfest, said Teufelsrad operator Elisabeth Polaczy gave out over 100 pairs of bike shorts to female visitors in dresses in an effort to lessen intrusive recording around the spinning ride.¹²⁴⁷

Thousands of videos online

The Teufelsrad, described by The Guardian as one of Oktoberfest’s oldest rides, spins rapidly while participants try to remain seated. The motion can lift skirts and dresses. German journalists found videos that showed women’s underwear after their dirndls had ridden up, according to The Guardian.¹²

Reports indicated that no fewer than 32,000 clips featuring women riding the attraction were being shared, with some seemingly drawing millions of views. The Guardian said research found more than 32,000 Teufelsrad-related videos on Meta platforms alone. Reports also said a woman earned €9,000 from one clip.¹²⁴

Separate reports said images of women in traditional dress and festival employees had been digitally altered, in some cases to make them appear naked. Blick reported on Sept 29 that recordings were being turned into deepfakes, while The Independent and The Times of India attributed some of the footage to professional YouTubers from Ukraine and people in Bavaria.²³⁴⁷

Shorts and warning signs

Polaczy, the 80-year-old operator of the Teufelsrad, said she wanted visitors to feel secure. During this year’s event, she distributed over 100 sets of bike shorts, while some Oktoberfest servers also started putting shorts on under their dirndls. Notices near the ride, including police posters in both German and English, caution visitors not to record under others’ skirts.¹²⁴⁷

Polaczy said monitoring the many people using phones was difficult. “I want to do everything I can to make people feel secure,” she said. Bavarian police have displayed anti-upskirting posters at Oktoberfest since 2025.¹²⁴

According to The Guardian and The Times of India, officers detained a 45-year-old man from Switzerland after he was allegedly found using a phone to record beneath a German woman’s dirndl at this year’s event. The Independent said about 600 officers were expected to serve around Oktoberfest, supplemented by specialist teams and international units from eight countries. It also reported that AI-assisted cameras were being used to detect large crowds.¹²⁴

Limits of the law

Germany made upskirting a criminal offence in 2020, punishable by as much as two years in prison. The practice involves secretly filming or photographing beneath someone’s skirt without consent. Josephine Ballon, head of the German digital-violence support organisation Hate Aid, argued that the legislation “applies only when you film under the skirt”, raising concern that it may not cover footage of what becomes visible when clothing lifts on the ride.¹²⁴

The Times of India reported that Munich has prohibited livestreams from Oktoberfest and requires a paid permit from anyone seeking to record there. The outlet said hundreds of permits had been issued to influencers and content creators this year. It also reported concern that devices such as camera glasses could make intrusive recording harder to detect.⁴

Deutschlandfunk Nova reported broader concerns about women’s safety at the festival. It said 185 women had contacted a support initiative by Sept 30, 2026, and that many seeking advice were younger than 30, including foreign tourists. The broadcaster also reported that advocates believe many incidents of sexualised and physical violence are never reported.⁶