Women visiting a famous attraction at Munich's Oktoberfest beer festival are receiving free cycling shorts to protect them from illegal secret filming. The operator of the historic Teufelsrad, or Devil’s Wheel, began handing out the shorts after an investigation revealed tens of thousands of unauthorized videos circulating online.
The Teufelsrad is a spinning ride where participants try to stay seated as long as possible. However, when women wearing traditional dirndl dresses lose their balance, their skirts often ride up. A study by the newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung discovered more than 32,000 videos from the ride on Meta platforms alone, some attracting millions of views. Filming under someone's clothing without consent, known as "upskirting," has been illegal in Germany since 2020 and can be punished by a fine or up to two years in prison.
The 80-year-old operator of the ride, Elisabeth Polaczy, said she has handed out more than 100 pairs of shorts during this year's festival to help women feel secure. Warning signs and police posters in English and German have been placed around the tent, but Polaczy noted that controlling smartphone filming remains difficult. Police reported arresting a 45-year-old Swiss man for upskirting at this year's festival, following ten arrests in 2025 and seven in 2024.