Newcastle Oktoberfest have emphasised the importance of students to their event, while also reiterating the seriousness of responsible drinking.
Magnus Kejser, spokesman for Oktoberfest, said:
“On Friday and Saturday we get more mature people. Tonight, we don’t get really mature people but it’s vital that we have these students because they know how to party.”
“The location we have here is very good, it is close to the University. When we go to other places, we are a little bit out of the way. They (students) really participate with the event.
“Because we have been coming here for three years, they get to know us and come here as a tradition. They say to us ‘we look forward to coming back next year’ which is really nice.”
The recent inquest into the death of Edward Farmer, the Newcastle University student who died from excessive drinking during an Agricultural Society social event, has brought the issue of drinking responsibly to the forefront. Kejser said:
“We don’t encourage drinking. We don’t have any drinking games. Perhaps that is the case in other student parties where you just drink, drink, drink, but not here.
“When you buy a beer at Oktoberfest, you don’t just buy the beer. You buy the music, you buy the atmosphere and the German vibe. So, we don’t really advertise the beer, we advertise the experience.”
Carl Robson, a student from Jesmond attending the event said: “We saw this on the upcoming events feature on Facebook. It’s our first time here but so far we’re enjoying it.”
Andrew White, also a student from Jesmond, said: “Our German friend from University was here last year, he said we should come with him this year. The beer is quite nice.”