Upskirting at Oktoberfest has prompted the operator of one of Munich’s best-known amusement rides to take an unusual step: handing out free cycling shorts to women and girls wearing dresses.
The Teufelsrad, or Devil’s Wheel, is one of the oldest rides at the Munich beer festival. The attraction spins rapidly while riders try to remain seated, often sending people sliding across the rotating platform. But the ride has also become the focus of a growing concern over videos showing women whose dirndl dresses have lifted during the experience, exposing their underwear.
An investigation by the Munich daily newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung found more than 32,000 videos linked to the Teufelsrad on Meta platforms alone. Some had attracted millions of views. The investigation raised fresh concerns about the extent to which images and videos taken without consent can be recorded, shared and viewed online.
The issue is particularly serious because filming beneath someone’s clothing without permission, commonly known as upskirting, has been illegal in Germany since 2020. Those convicted can face a fine or a prison sentence of up to two years. Despite the law, women’s rights advocates have argued that legislation alone cannot prevent people from using smartphones to record others in vulnerable situations.
Elisabeth Polaczy, the 80-year-old operator of the Teufelsrad, told the BBC that she has been giving women and girls free cycling shorts to wear under their dresses. She has handed out more than 100 pairs during this year’s Oktoberfest, which ends on Sunday.
“I want to do everything I can to make people feel secure,” Polaczy said.
The shorts do not address the act of secretly recording someone, but Polaczy said she wanted to give visitors an additional way to protect themselves while using the ride. The measure also reflects the difficulty of monitoring hundreds of visitors and preventing every smartphone from being used to record people on the attraction.
Warnings are already displayed around the Teufelsrad tent. Signs and police posters in both German and English tell visitors that filming under people’s skirts is prohibited. But Polaczy said it remains difficult to control everyone with a smartphone.
The Bavarian police told the BBC that posters warning against upskirting have been displayed at Oktoberfest since 2025.
The controversy also highlights a wider problem created when footage recorded without consent is uploaded to social media platforms. Once such material is online, it can be copied, reposted and viewed by large audiences, making it difficult for the person filmed to regain control over the images.
For women visiting the Teufelsrad, the free cycling shorts offer a practical precaution. But the responsibility for preventing upskirting ultimately remains with the people who record and distribute such footage without consent. The presence of warnings, police notices and protective clothing cannot remove the need for visitors to respect that boundary.
