Revellers kicked off their weekend with a visit to Oktoberfest in Newcastle.
The festival is being held inside a large Bavarian beer hall located in Times Square. Customers can drink German beer from a stein while listening to traditional music and tucking into a bratwurst.
The event, which is operated by Two Tribes Limited, is a local take on the famous Oktoberfest beer festival held in Munich, Germany, each year. It will run over three weekends in October, including the weekend before Halloween.
Read more: Patties Burger Joint in Newcastle reopens after rent row with landlords
On Friday evening, crowds of people arrived at Oktoberfest from 6pm. They were able to purchase rounds of drinks from two bars and food from street vendors selling German sausages, burgers and pizza.
They took their seats on the hundreds of wooden benches inside the tent and danced to music which was being played by a DJ.
Next weekend, those who attend Oktoberfest will be able to take part in a special Halloween edition of Crowd Karaoke. There will also be an interactive screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
General Manager Tom Brodie said it is the third year they have run Oktoberfest in the city and it is the biggest event to date. They previously held the festival last year and back in 2019. Two Tribes Limited are also behind Paddyfest and Central Park.
The 30-year-old, from North Shields, North Tyneside, said: "People from the North East absolutely love it. 90% of the people that come are from the North East. People like the Oktoberfest vibe of sitting at tables and standing on chair and dancing.
"People get dressed up and they come dressed in fancy dress. It's rare that you go to a bar and you can order a stein but here we have German beer steins. It feels different and the atmosphere is different.
"We have had some Germans in which has been nice. They loved it and they knew the German songs that we played. It was quite emotional for them. They are in a different country and it made them feel at home. We got them sat right at the front and we made sure they were looked after.
"This is the biggest Oktoberfest we have done. Last year, we had capacity for 1,000 people capacity and this year we have a 1,400 people. We have lowered the prices slightly due to the cost of living, we have lowered it as much as we can. It's very important for us to do that because the costs of bills are going up and the cost of food is going up."
Oktoberfest NCL 2022 runs between October 14 and October 31. Tickets for the beer festival cost £10 and include a complimentary drink. They can be purchased on the website.
To watch live footage of Oktoberfest click here.
Read more:
