Oktoberfest Upskirt Surge: Munich Riders Get Red Shorts, City Steps Up

Sat Oct 03 2026 02:14:30 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

Munich’s iconic Teufelsrad faces a surge in upskirting, prompting the operator to hand out cycling shorts and prompting new law‑and‑policy measures.

The Teufelsrad, Munich’s celebrated beer‑festival ride, has become a target for upskirting videos that have gone viral online. In response, operator Elisabeth Polaczy has begun giving out free cycling shorts to women wearing traditional dirndls to protect their privacy. The city has intensified public warnings, banned live streams, and introduced a permit system for influencers. Meanwhile, activists argue current German upskirting laws are not robust enough and call for broader legal coverage of online sexualised content.

Oktoberfest Upskirt Surge: Munich Riders Get Red Shorts, City Steps Up

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The ride’s circular platform spins so fast that it can sometimes cause skirts to lift, and unfortunately that lift often creates the perfect opportunity for on‑line voyeurists. A single clip of a woman riding the Teufelsrad reportedly earned the uploader €9,000 (\u00a37,650), showing how profitable the problem can be. The videos – many of which total more than 32,000 – have gone viral across social‑media channels, with some clips drawing millions of views.

Local operator Elisabeth Polaczy, now 80, says she began handing out red bicycle shorts for the past three years to women and girls wearing traditional dirndls. It isn’t cheap, but it’s worth it for my own peace of mind, she told the BBC. This year she has distributed more than 100 pairs, showing a zero‑tolerance stance against upskirting. While the Teufelsrad tent is posted with German and English signs warning against filming under skirts, Polaczy notes that controlling every smartphone in the crowd is impossible.

The police have stepped in, arresting a Swiss man last year for filming under a dirndl and increasing the penalty for upskirting. They launched a public poster campaign during the event this year, and a city‑wide permit scheme now requires a fee‑based licence for influencers who wish to stream. Meanwhile, activists like Josephine Ballon of Hate Aid argue that current law only covers deliberate filming under a skirt, ignoring moments when a skirt simply lifts. She is pressing for stronger penalties for those who upload intimate footage online and for platforms that host the content.

The debate extends to new technology: wearable camera glasses and deeper privacy breaches are a looming threat, Ballon warns. At the same time the city is attempting to hotline videos from the festival and manage social‑media exploitation to protect participants’ dignity.

In short, the Oktoberfest scene has become a microcosm of contemporary digital privacy issues: a heart‑warming festival now left on the brink of exploitation, with jokes and memes stretching the limits of a country’s legal frameworks. A community that once celebrated beer and music now wrestles with what lies beneath.

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