Get the lederhosen ready and prepare for a flavour of Bavaria – Oktoberfest is coming to Scotland.

The iconic German beer festival arrives in Edinburgh’s Princes Street Gardens on October 9 before making its way to Glasgow Green on October 17, bringing with it some of the flavours of the 200-year-old event.

Bands, bratwurst, fancy dress will all be part of the affair. And of course there will also be beer. It has to be given that the seven million people who visit the event annually consume 6.2 million litres of the stuff.

Director of the London Oktoberfest, Carsten Raun, said: “We want to bring the best in German culture to Scotland.

“Since 2009 the event has taken place in Copenhagen too and now we have expanded across Europe. We started our London event in 2011 and it was so much fun. We had 16,000 people in London and we thought it was time to move north.

“We decided to bring it to Edinburgh and Glasgow because they are both national cities and we heard they both like to party.

“Deciding on locations is a funny thing. We looked at Edinburgh and found a wonderful site but then a lot of people told us that Glasgow is also a party city. We found the Glasgow Green there and it is wonderful too. Both cities like a party so we will aim to bring a big one with us.”

You can experience authentic German beers, food and music immersing yourself in Bavarian culture in the large festival tents.

Each tent will be decorated in traditional German style with a blue and white theme throughout and waiters and waitresses delivering their stein of beer dressed in traditional Dirndl and Lederhosen.

The beer will also be freshly delivered to each event direct from Germany ensuring the drinks are as true to the original festival as possible.

And it is not only the food and drink that will take on a German theme as the music will come direct from Germany with folk bands including Bayern Stuermer and Albfetza and live DJ sets.

Carsten said: “It’s a very good event. The more people we have, the atmosphere increases and makes the day better.

“The event is probably best described like a football game, there are sing-a-longs and people get into a cheery spirit. They are usually people standing on the benches enjoying the beer and singing and dancing.

“There are long benches so you might be sitting beside somebody you don’t know, that is what is nice about it by the end of the day you might have made new friends. It adds to the fun element of the day.

“We will have German bands and also British music so we can have big sing-a-long sessions.”

If you want to look the part, fancy dress is welcome and you can book your costume online with delivery to your house or pick up at the venue.

However, it is not all drinking and partying as the group want to let families enjoy the experience offering a Sunday lunch session for all ages.

Carsten said: “On the Sunday we want to turn it into a family event. For the other days it is adults only, but we want children to enjoy it too.

“It’s a great experience and it’s a really positive day. I think it’s great as people are usually fresh on the Sunday and I think it’s an insider tip to come on the Sunday.

“We want people to think of coming along for their Sunday lunch.”

The event will take place from Wednesday, October 9 to Sunday, October 13 at Princes Street Gardens in Edinburgh before moving to Glasgow for two sessions on Thursday, October 17 to Sunday, October 20 and Thursday, October 24 to Sunday, October 27 at Glasgow Green.

Packages are available on the day including food, beer and a seat reservation for £34 and £39 on Saturday Sessions.

An entrance ticket on Thursday, Friday and Sunday costs £5 and Saturday £10.

The group plan to make the event a tradition in Glasgow and Edinburgh with an annual event in the same location.

Carsten added: “The intention is to make it regular but we only want to have it once a year. I think it’s much better having it to look forward to and keeping it in the same place around the same time each year.

“People become familiar with it and that is what we want.

“I hope people in Scotland like it and from the first feedback we have had, it’s been fantastic.”

Tickets can be purchased in advance online via http://www.glasgow-oktoberfest.co.uk/ or http://www.edinburgh-oktoberfest.co.uk.

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