Olympia Looping

Olympia Looping
Full layout at night
Oktoberfest
Location	Oktoberfest
Coordinates	48°07′52″N 11°32′56″E / 48.131°N 11.549°E / 48.131; 11.549
Status	Operating
Opening date	September 17, 1989
General statistics
Type	Steel
Manufacturer	BHS
Designer	Anton Schwarzkopf, Werner Stengel
Lift/launch system	Drive tire lift hill
Height	34 m (112 ft)
Drop	30 m (98 ft)
Length	1,250 m (4,100 ft)
Speed	84 km/h (52 mph)
Inversions	5
Duration	1:45
Max vertical angle	52°
G-force	5.2
Height restriction	130–195 cm (4 ft 3 in – 6 ft 5 in)
Trains	5 trains with 7 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows for a total of 28 riders per train.
Olympia Looping at RCDB

Olympia Looping, also known as Munich Looping, is a portable steel roller coaster owned and operated by R. Barth und Sohn Schaustellerbetriebe KG.^[1] The ride was designed by Anton Schwarzkopf and Werner Stengel, and built by BHS. It is the largest portable roller coaster in the world, and the only one with five inversions. It appears at many carnivals in Germany, most notably Oktoberfest, where it made its debut in 1989.

It is named for its five vertical loops, which resemble the Olympic rings. Although they are clothoid-shaped, their shape is closer to circular than the ones on most other roller coasters, so they exert unusually high g-forces on the passengers (up to 5.2 g^[2]).

The entire structure weighs 900 metric tonnes and requires a space 85 m wide by 36 m deep. The ride usually runs with five cars per train, though at events such as Oktoberfest and Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park, London, it runs with seven to increase throughput in busy periods.

The ride is almost always known as Olympia Looping in reference to its loops being painted to match those of the Olympic rings. However, there are two exceptions to this:

When being designed, the ride was known as Fünfer Looping (Five Loops), continuing a sequence of travelling Schwarzkopf rides that previously included Doppel Looping and Dreier Looping (Double Loop and Triple Loop). This name is occasionally used in trade literature.

Since 2016, the ride has appeared at London's Hyde Park Winter Wonderland event. In order to avoid reference to the Olympics (as the 2012 Summer Olympics was held in the city), and to fit in with the Bavarian theme of other sections of the event, the ride appears under the name Munich Looping, although branding on the ride itself uses the German München Looping.^[3]

After leaving the station, the train starts ascending the 34 m (112 ft) lift hill. The train turns 180 degrees during the first part of the lift hill.

After cresting the top, it enters the drop. At the bottom of the drop, it immediately enters its first inversion. It then takes a sharp 180 degree turn before entering 2 back to back vertical loops. The train then ascends and turns 180 degrees into the mid-course brake run, which is also a small lift hill.

At the top of the lift, it drops and enters 2 half-helix elements before entering its last 2 inversions, again done back to back. Next, it enters a block brake before more full helix elements. It banks to the right where the on-ride photo is taken. After the photo is taken, the ride enters the final brakes.

On September 27, 2008, a drive tyre failed on the ride, stranding over 20 Oktoberfest attendees at the top of the first hill. They were freed with the help of the Munich Fire Department.^[4]

On 20th December 2021, whilst the Olympia Looping was stationed in Winter Wonderland, a power cut caused the ride to stop on the first hill. Riders were evacuated from the ride with the stairs on the lift hill.^[5]

On 29th March, 2022, while the Olympia Looping was stationed at the Wurstelprater in Vienna, Austria, an employee was killed in a collision with one of the trains while accessing a restricted area.^[6]

On 16th September 2024, while Olympia Looping was being commissioned at Oktoberfest, another employee was fatally struck by a train.^[7]

The ride was ranked in the Steel Roller Coasters Poll 11 Year Results Table awards from 1999 to 2010. Below is the table of the rankings of the traveling roller coaster.

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