Coronavirus: Oktoberfest cancelled: BBC News Review

Oktoberfest in Munich has been cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic. With people in lockdown due to Covid-19, the biggest beer festival in the world isn't happening. Neil and Catherine look at the vocabulary in the news around this story.

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The story

You can perhaps understand why the authorities have made this call. If you’ve been to Oktoberfest, you’ll know that people pack into huge decorated tents. They sit side by side at trestle tables drinking beer and eating German food while listening to German brass bands. The authorities have simply taken the view that it would be far too great a risk to public health to let it continue.

Vocabulary

iconic
very famous; represents a particular idea
•The Eiffel Tower is Paris’s most iconic landmark.
•Most people agree The Beatles were the most iconic band from the 1960s.

bitter pill
unpleasant but necessary
•The coronavirus lockdown is a bitter pill.
•Tax increases may help the economy but they are a bitter pill to swallow.

scrapped
not continued; cancelled
•The new law was so unpopular it was eventually scrapped.
•I scrapped my plans to throw Katka a surprise birthday party when she said she hated surprises.

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