ObservanceSaturday, September 18, 2027
Oktoberfest (starts in Germany)
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Oktoberfest begins in September, which is the first thing worth knowing about it. The festival opens on the Theresienwiese in Munich on the first Saturday after September 15 and runs to the first Sunday in October — a window the city moved earlier in 1872 to catch better weather. The name stayed where the calendar used to be.
History
Oktoberfest started as a wedding party. On October 17, 1810, a large horse race was held on a meadow at the edge of Munich to celebrate the marriage of the Bavarian crown prince Ludwig — later King Ludwig I — to Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen. The city puts the crowd at around 50,000, watching from the slope above the meadow. With royal permission the ground was named in the bride's honor: Theresienwiese, Therese's meadow. A follow-up race the next year turned a one-off wedding entertainment into a tradition.
Munich residents found the full name unwieldy and shortened it, and the festival took the name of its ground. Locals still call it the "Wiesn," the Bavarian form of Wiese, meadow — a name about the field, not the beer.
The horse race that started everything remained part of Oktoberfest until the 1960s. The move into September came in 1872, to take advantage of the milder, sunnier late-summer weather, and the start and end rule has been fixed to that window since.
Two things in the festival's modern record are worth stating rather than skipping. On September 26, 1980, a bomb at the main entrance killed 12 visitors and the bomber and injured more than 200 people. And in 2020 Oktoberfest was canceled for the first time in decades because of the coronavirus pandemic — the city counted it as the 25th cancellation in 210 years — with 2021 canceled as well.
Timeline
- October 17, 1810 — A horse race on a meadow outside Munich celebrates the wedding of Bavarian crown prince Ludwig and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen; around 50,000 spectators watch from the slope above. The ground is named Theresienwiese in the bride's honor.
- 1811 — A follow-up race is held on the same meadow, and the festival becomes a tradition.
- 1872 — The festival is moved into September to take advantage of milder, sunnier late-summer weather.
- September 26, 1980 — A bomb at the festival's main entrance kills 12 visitors and the bomber and injures more than 200 people.
- 2020–2021 — Oktoberfest is canceled two years running because of the coronavirus pandemic; the city counts 2020 as the 25th cancellation in 210 years.
- 2026 — Around 7.4 million people attend, a record, and beer consumption is estimated at about 6.7 million liters.
How to observe
If you are going, the dates are not a guess: Oktoberfest 2027 runs September 18 to October 3 on the Theresienwiese.
Know why the length changes. The festival normally runs 16 days, but October 3, German Unity Day, always falls inside the Oktoberfest period. If it lands on a Monday the festival is extended a day, to 17. If it lands on a Tuesday, the city council can decide to run through it, making 18. That is the whole mechanism, and it is why published end dates differ year to year.
Plan for the scale. The Theresienwiese covers about 42 hectares — roughly 60 soccer fields — and holds 17 large festival tents, 21 small ones, and over 120 fairground attractions. Construction starts in mid-July, so the site is a building project for two months before anyone drinks anything.
The part most visitors miss is the Oide Wiesn, the historic section, which drew 447,000 paying visitors in 2026. It steps aside every fourth year for the Central Agricultural Festival, so whether it is there at all depends on the year you go.
Frequently asked questions
Why does Oktoberfest start in September?
Because Munich moved it. The city says the festival was shifted into September in 1872 to take advantage of the milder, sunnier late-summer weather. Since then it has traditionally started on the first Saturday after September 15 and ended on the first Sunday in October, which leaves most of it in September.
When is Oktoberfest 2027?
September 18 to October 3, 2027, on the Theresienwiese in Munich.
Why does Oktoberfest last 16 days some years and 17 or 18 in others?
October 3, German Unity Day, always falls within the Oktoberfest period. If it falls on a Monday the festival is extended by one day, to 17. If it falls on a Tuesday, the city council can decide to end the festival on that day instead, making 18 days in all.
How did Oktoberfest begin?
As a wedding celebration. A horse race was held on October 17, 1810 to mark the marriage of the Bavarian crown prince Ludwig and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen, the meadow was named Theresienwiese after the bride, and a repeat race the following year made it annual.
Why do people call it the "Wiesn"?
Theresienwiese was too long for everyday use, so the festival took the name of its ground. "Wiesn" is the Bavarian form of Wiese, meadow.
How big is Oktoberfest?
Around 7.4 million people attended in 2026, a record, up from about 6.5 million the year before. The grounds run to roughly 42 hectares and hold 17 large tents, 21 small ones and over 120 fairground attractions.
When is Oktoberfest (starts in Germany)?
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2027 | September 18 | Saturday |
| 2028 | September 16 | Saturday |
| 2029 | September 22 | Saturday |
| 2030 | September 21 | Saturday |
| 2031 | September 20 | Saturday |
Sources
- City of Munich official portal, The History of the Oktoberfest in Munich — https://www.muenchen.de/en/events/oktoberfest/history-oktoberfest-munich → the October 17, 1810 horse race and the wedding it celebrated; the meadow named Theresienwiese in the bride's honor; the horse race as part of Oktoberfest until the 1960s; the September 26, 1980 bombing (12 visitors and the bomber killed, over 200 injured); the 2020 cancellation as the 25th in 210 years and the second cancellation in 2021.
- City of Munich official portal, Oktoberfest FAQ — https://www.muenchen.de/en/events/oktoberfest/visitor-service/faq → the date rule, traditionally the first Saturday after September 15 to the first Sunday in October; the 1872 move into September for the milder weather; the October 3 German Unity Day extension to 17 days on a Monday or, by city council decision, 18 days on a Tuesday; 17 large and 21 small festival tents and over 120 fairground attractions; Oktoberfest 2027 running September 18 to October 3.
- City of Munich official portal, Theresienwiese — https://www.muenchen.de/en/sights/attractions/theresienwiese → Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig, later King Ludwig I; around 50,000 spectators at the 1810 race; the ground named with royal permission in the bride's honor; the 1811 follow-up race beginning the tradition; the 42-hectare site, roughly 60 soccer fields; construction beginning in mid-July; "Wiesn" as the Bavarian form of Wiese.
- City of Munich official portal, Oktoberfest numbers and records — https://www.muenchen.de/en/events/oktoberfest/numbers-records → around 7.4 million visitors in 2026, a record, against about 6.5 million the previous year; beer consumption in 2026 estimated at about 6.7 million Maß (liters); the Oide Wiesn's 447,000 paying visitors; the 2027 dates.
- Oktoberfest.de, Worth knowing about Oktoberfest — https://www.oktoberfest.de/en/magazine/worth-knowing-about-oktoberfest → the 16 / 17 / 18-day rule, agreeing with the city's statement; the Oide Wiesn standing aside every fourth year for the Central Agricultural Festival.
Source conflict resolved, not averaged: the city's history page calls Ludwig "Bavarian King Ludwig I" at the time of the 1810 wedding, while the city's own Theresienwiese page and Oktoberfest.de both call him Crown Prince — the Theresienwiese page explicitly as "Crown Prince Ludwig, later King Ludwig I." This page follows the Crown Prince reading: two of the three pages agree on it and it is the more precise statement, since Ludwig did not become king until 1825.
Omitted for lack of a source: the commonly repeated list of earlier Oktoberfest cancellations attributed to wars, cholera epidemics and the 1923–24 inflation. The city states only the 2020 and 2021 cancellations and a running total of 25 in 210 years, and does not enumerate the others, so neither does this page. Also omitted: a competing account on the city's FAQ page of how the nickname "Wiesn" arose, which appears garbled on that page and conflicts with the Theresienwiese page's straightforward explanation.
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