In brief
Oktoberfest 2026 runs from September 19 to October 4, the festival’s 191st year on the Theresienwiese, and 2027 is already locked in at September 18 to October 3. Blame the September dates on history, not a typo: the first Oktoberfest was a horse race on October 17, 1810, and organizers moved the whole festival earlier starting in 1872, chasing the warmer, longer days before autumn set in. The run always closes on the first Sunday of October, which is why you get 16 days some years and 17 or 18 in others, depending on where German Unity Day, October 3, happens to fall. Nobody bends these dates for a nicer photo, so if 2027 is your year, the calendar is already fixed and worth building a trip around now.
If you have searched “Oktoberfest” and watched every sensible flight land you in September, nothing is wrong with your calendar; the festival kept the name and quietly ditched the month. This is the short version of my complete guide to Oktoberfest in Munich: the dates for 2026 and 2027, where they came from, and why a festival still called Oktoberfest spends nearly its entire run trying to beat the first frost.
Oktoberfest 2026 and 2027, at a glance
| Year | Dates | Length | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | September 19 – October 4 | 16 days | 191st Oktoberfest1 |
| 2027 | September 18 – October 3 | 16 days | Confirmed by oktoberfest.de2 |
The 2026 Wiesn is happening as this page is written. Munich’s newly elected mayor, Dominik Krause, gave his first tapping ceremony on opening Saturday, September 19, and needed just two strikes to open the keg, tying the record for fewest taps4.
The following day, more than 8,600 people marched in the traditional costume and riflemen’s parade, and over 1,550 preschoolers took organized tours of the grounds. The winning song from this year’s public-vote anthem contest, “A Liad für d’Wiesn,” was “Bierzelt Legende” by the band Troglauer5.
On opening day itself, festival management counted roughly 450,000 visitors, and police called the opening weekend “comparatively calm,” logging about 55 offences6. Say what you like about half a million people in one field; by Wiesn standards, that counts as a quiet start. Whatever the count, I’d bet a fair share of those glasses weren’t beer at all — mine at the Wiesn was always a Radler, half beer and half lemon soda, which looks the part and hits far softer.
Why "Oktoberfest" happens in September
The name is a hangover from history, not a marketing choice. The very first Oktoberfest was not a beer festival at all: it was a horse race on October 17, 1810, staged on a meadow outside Munich’s gates to celebrate the wedding of Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria, later King Ludwig I, to Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen five days earlier. The wedding ran from October 12 to 17, and the meadow was named “Theresens-Wiese” for the bride, which locals still shorten to “the Wiesn.” The idea for the race came from Andreas Michael Dall’Armi, a Bavarian National Guard officer, who was awarded Munich’s first gold citizens’ medal for it in 18243.
The festival then sat in October, stubbornly, for six decades. Then, in the festival’s own words, organizers “let the Oktoberfest begin since 1872 already in September” because October’s weather had turned cooler and its days shorter2. The move stuck, which is the entire explanation for why a festival that keeps its October name now spends most of its run in the milder light of late September.
Resi says If your search turns up an “Oktoberfest” in October, you have found some other town’s party wearing Munich’s name like a rented dirndl. The real one has not opened in October since 1871, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something, possibly the rented dirndl.
Why the festival is sometimes 16, 17 or 18 days
The closing date is not arbitrary either. It is built around October 3, German Unity Day, which always falls during the run. Oktoberfest’s own FAQ explains it plainly: if that date lands on a Monday, the Wiesn runs 17 days instead of 16; if it lands on a Tuesday, the city council can choose to run a full 18 days2. The default, when neither applies, is 16 days, ending on the first Sunday of October, which is the case for both years covered here: 2026 runs 16 days to October 4, and 2027 runs 16 days to October 3, itself a Sunday in 2027.
What this means for planning your trip
Once you know the dates, the next decision is when inside that window to go and where to stay, since rooms near the Theresienwiese book out early. My best days and hours page has the calendar for crowd levels, and the tents themselves are covered in my tents guide.
The 2026 run also arrives with new security worth knowing while you plan: roughly 600 police officers are deployed across the festival, a new control centre uses camera-fed “heat maps” to flag overcrowding, and the panic-button app Safe Now, now in its fourth year, covers eight of the large tents and dispatches help “accurate to within a metre”8. None of that changes when to go, but it is part of what a late-September date at the Wiesn now looks like.
Because the 2027 dates are already locked in, this is the moment to start planning if you want a specific day, such as opening weekend or a quiet midweek session, rather than whatever is left once flights and rooms fill up.
If you are booking a hotel around either set of dates, the U-Bahn line matters more than the festival gate itself, since the stations closest to the Theresienwiese are also the most crowded ones7.
Resi says Book near the quiet stations, not the closest one. Goetheplatz and Poccistraße, on the U3 and U6, sit about a ten-minute walk from the Theresienwiese and are considerably calmer than staying right at the gates on the U4/U5, which drops you into the middle of everyone else’s plan at once. My hotels near the Theresienwiese page goes through the areas in more detail.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is Oktoberfest 2027?
September 18 to October 3, 2027, as confirmed on oktoberfest.de.
When is Oktoberfest 2026?
September 19 to October 4, 2026, the festival’s 191st year.
Why is it called Oktoberfest if it happens in September?
The first Oktoberfest, a horse race in 1810, took place in October, but the festival moved to start in September beginning in 1872 for better weather and longer days.
When was the first Oktoberfest?
October 17, 1810, a horse race celebrating the wedding of Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen.
Why does Oktoberfest sometimes last 16, 17 or 18 days?
The festival is built around German Unity Day, October 3, which always falls inside it. If October 3 lands on a Monday the run is extended to 17 days, and if it lands on a Tuesday the city council can extend it to 18; otherwise it runs the default 16 days, ending the first Sunday of October.
Who taps the first keg?
The mayor of Munich, at noon on opening Saturday in the Schottenhamel tent. In 2026, new mayor Dominik Krause needed two strikes.
Related Articles
Sources
- Oktoberfest — oktoberfest.de, City of Munich. Accessed 2026-09-24.
- FAQs for Wiesn visitors — oktoberfest.de, City of Munich. Accessed 2026-09-24.
- The history of Oktoberfest — oktoberfest.de, City of Munich. Accessed 2026-09-24.
- Der Anstich — muenchen.de, City of Munich. Accessed 2026-09-24.
- Oktoberfest news — oktoberfest.de, City of Munich. Accessed 2026-09-24.
- Erstes Wiesnwochenende 2026: Bilanz — muc-blog.com. Accessed 2026-09-24.
- How to get to Oktoberfest: routes, tickets, stations, apps — muenchen.de, City of Munich. Accessed 2026-09-24.
- Bag checks and safe spaces: how Munich aims to make Oktoberfest safer — The Local Germany. Accessed 2026-09-24.