Women given shorts at Oktoberfest to prevent upskirting
The step at the Munich festival comes after thousands of voyeuristic videos emerged on social media.
Women handed shorts at Oktoberfest to stop upskirting
The operator of a popular ride at Munich's Oktoberfest has been giving women free cycling shorts after thousands of voyeuristic videos appeared on social media.
Videos of women on the Teufelsrad, or Devil's Wheel, have been watched millions of times. One clip is said to have earned a woman thousands of euros after she posted it online.
The Teufelsrad is among the oldest attractions at Oktoberfest, the annual beer festival that ends this weekend after 16 days. Its round platform spins faster and faster until riders are thrown off, and the movement and speed often cause skirts to lift.
Filming under skirts is illegal in Germany and can carry a two-year prison sentence.
Even so, critics say the law does not go far enough, and videos of women on the Teufelsrad in traditional dirndl dresses often reveal their underwear. In some cases, the images have been digitally edited to make them appear naked, according to local broadcaster BR.
Elisabeth Polaczy says she has handed out more than 100 pairs of cycle shorts this year
According to BR, one woman made €9,000 (£7,650) from a single clip, and its investigation found that a group of professional YouTubers from Ukraine and several people from Bavaria were behind the videos.
Munich-based daily Süddeutsche Zeitung says at least 32,000 videos of women on the Teufelsrad have circulated. Some of them, it says, have been viewed millions of times.
Elisabeth Polaczy, the operator of the Teufelsrad, told the BBC that for the past three years she has been giving free cycling shorts to women and girls wearing dresses to protect them from people filming in the crowd.
She says she has handed out more than 100 pairs at this year's Oktoberfest: "I want to do everything I can to make people feel secure."
Polaczy, who is 80, said donating the shorts was not cheap, but that it was worth it for her own peace of mind.
The Teufelsrad tent is covered with signs and police posters in German and English warning against filming under people's skirts, but Polaczy says it is impossible to stop everyone filming with smartphones.
Some waitresses at this year's beer festival say they have also begun wearing cycling shorts under their dirndls.
A spokesman for the Bavarian police told the BBC that since 2025 it has run a poster campaign at Oktoberfest warning against upskirting.
A police poster in Munich timed for this year's Oktoberfest makes clear that "upskirting is a crime"
This year, police arrested a 45-year-old Swiss man for using his phone to film under a German woman's dirndl. Last year there were 10 arrests for upskirting, and seven in 2024.
But Josephine Ballon, who heads the German non-profit organisation Hate Aid, which supports victims of digital violence, told the BBC that the current law against upskirting does not offer enough protection.
She says there are plans for a new law, but current legislation "applies only when you film under the skirt", and not when a skirt simply flies up and is photographed.
She also believes new camera glasses are a threat.
Ballon wants anyone who has uploaded intimate pictures of women online to be punished, along with the platforms that host them.
Meanwhile, the city of Munich has moved to tighten rules on influencers and content creators who earn money from social media posts and want to film at Oktoberfest.
Munich has banned live streams from the festival and requires anyone who wants to film there to have a permit, which the city issues for a fee.
Hundreds of licences have been issued this year to influencers who make money from product placement or sponsorship.