The Wiesn 2025

6.5 million guests from all over the world

According to initial estimates by the festival organizers, around 6.5 million guests visited the Theresienwiese over the 16 days up to and including Sunday, October 5—slightly fewer than last year (6.7 million), which is mainly due to the closure on Wednesday. The Oide Wiesn event attracted 360,000 visitors (2024: 430,000).

The Wiesn attracts guests from all over the world

As in previous years, the festival crowd was a colorful mix of families with children, groups of coworkers, young people, and seniors, all coming to Theresienwiese to stroll around for a few hours, try out the rides, eat, drink, and celebrate in the festival tents and gardens.
Oktoberfest is a regional festival with high international attention. The majority of guests still came from Munich itself or the surrounding area. On the middle Saturday, around 30 percent came from abroad, compared to an average of around 21 percent. Most international guests came from the USA, Italy, Great Britain, Austria, Poland, Spain, France, India, and Sweden.
Festival organizers, showmen, market traders, and innkeepers are satisfied with how the festival went.

6.5 million pints of beer sold

Regional Bavarian cuisine continues to be popular. Guests appreciate quality and enjoy the experience of eating and drinking Bavarian specialties at the Wiesn. Classic delicacies remain an integral part of the festival experience. At the same time, the catering industry is following the social trend toward organic food and vegetarian and vegan options, offering a wide range of choices. Demand has stabilized at a steady level. Vegetarian Kässpatzen (cheese noodles) and Rahmschwammerl (cream mushrooms) with dumplings are particularly popular.
The Wiesnwirte (large Wiesn landlords) report an increase of around 5 to 6 percent in food sales (excluding chicken), while the smaller tents report an increase of 3 to 4 percent. According to the festival hosts, beer consumption was around 6.5 million liters (2024: 7 million). Depending on the tent, demand for non-alcoholic beer was up 6 to 10 percent, and demand for non-alcoholic beverages as a whole was up 3 percent. The traditionally strongest days were the three Saturdays and the public holiday.

Street sales

Leberkässemmel, Fischsemmel, and Bratwurstsemmel were among the bestsellers in street sales. Ice cream was particularly in demand on the first, very hot weekend. With cooler temperatures on the following days, roasted almonds were back in the lead.

Jug theft

Around 116,000 beer mugs have been collected by security staff so far (2024: 98,000).

Schaustellerei

Despite the changeable weather, the operators of the rides were satisfied with this year's Oktoberfest. The “wild” rides, which gave brave guests a real adrenaline rush, were particularly popular. Rainy days meant that indoor rides such as the Teufelsrad (Devil's Wheel) and the ghost trains became crowd pullers. A particular highlight was the intergenerational rush of families with children, not only on family days and Sundays, which delighted the showmen and women.

Popular souvenirs to take home

Souvenirs

Small gifts and souvenirs such as pins, Glubberl, and refrigerator magnets were particularly popular, as they can be easily stowed in hand luggage and do not get in the way when strolling around. Small to medium-sized hearts were more popular than the very large ones. Funny hats were less in demand this year than in previous years.

Official Oktoberfest souvenirs and Munich Tourism information stands

This year, there were four Munich Tourism information stands on site. Local visitors mainly used these to ask for the locations of drinking fountains or individual stands. International guests inquired about tickets for the festival tents, currency exchange options, and the best routes around the festival grounds. The official Oktoberfest souvenirs sold very well and are available all year round at www.shop.oktoberfest.de.

The Oktoberfest hit of 2025 – two songs are in the running this year.

There were two Oktoberfest hits in 2025: “Wackelkontakt” by Oimara and “Bella Napoli” by Roy Bianco and the Abbrunzati Boys. “Bierdringa,” the winning song of the “A Liad für'd Wiesn” competition, was also played regularly. Its performer, FENZL, appeared in person on most stages.

Safety at Oktoberfest

Safety is and remains a hallmark of the Wiesn. The police, fire department, medical station, and all other authorities involved emphasized the excellent cooperation and safety partnership with private security companies. All security authorities praised the prudence of visitors, despite the aforementioned incidents this year. The checks at the entrances were accepted without any problems at all times. All security personnel reported very positive feedback from guests, who thanked the police, fire department, and security staff for their presence and said they felt safe at the Wiesn.
In addition, the police, medical services, and youth protection services positively emphasized that the number of intoxicated minors has continued to decline this year. Security personnel and wait staff are highly sensitive to this issue. Young visitors were mostly sensible and responsible.

Closure of the festival grounds

The challenges were overcome jointly by the organizers, security, and medical services without any serious consequences. The measures taken quickly eased the situation of overcrowding during the reservation change on the middle Saturday. Nevertheless, many guests felt unsettled and uncomfortable – all those responsible deeply regret this and have already made further preparations for the current Oktoberfest so that potential overcrowding can be identified and communicated even earlier in the future. The crowd manager began work on Thursday, and visitor information was also improved. The threat of overcrowding on October 3 was averted by temporarily closing the grounds and providing targeted information to visitors.

Nevertheless, around 150,000 festival guests still came after the reopening

Oktoberfest boss Dr. Christian Scharpf: "The sunny holiday was the busiest day for visitors—even with the one-hour closure. Even after what happened on Wednesday, around 150,000 people still came to party at the Oktoberfest from 5:30 p.m. onwards. On a normal weekday, between 200,000 and 250,000 guests visit the festival grounds. These figures show us that visitors feel safe and are not letting anything dampen their enjoyment of Oktoberfest. I would like to express my sincere thanks to all guests for their understanding of the security measures."

Police

The police report normal operations at the Wiesn. The number of incidents is in line with last year's figures.

Fire department

Medical station

The Aicher Ambulance Service reports that this year's Oktoberfest has been challenging. Particularly due to the first hot weekend, 28 percent more calls were reported than during Oktoberfest 2024. Despite two closures due to overcrowding, there was no increase in the number of patients at the medical station.

Protection of minors

Until October 5, the youth protection service approached several drunk teenagers on the festival grounds to ask if they needed help, but they were all accompanied and cared for. 200 parents were made aware of the ban on strollers after 6 p.m. 70 families with children were asked to leave the festival tents after 8 p.m. After being approached by the stewards, all parents were very cooperative. No children had to be taken into care. The breastfeeding and nappy-changing room in the festival management office was very well used. (Enquiries: Press office of the Social Welfare Department, telephone 233-48211).

Lost property

By Sunday, October 5, an estimated 4,500 lost items had been registered. Compared to last year, this is an estimated 400 more lost items (an increase of 10 percent). These included 1,100 items of clothing, 800 wallets, 600 ID cards, 450 bank cards, 400 smartphones, 370 keys, 280 pairs of glasses/sunglasses, 150 bags, backpacks, and pouches, 60 umbrellas, and 40 hats and watches, including 25 smartwatches. Around 900 lost items were returned during the Oktoberfest (extrapolated). The most curious finds: a wallet with 620 euros in cash, a mouth guard, a new dirndl, a pair of lederhosen, an accordion, an insulin syringe, a cutlery box with contents, and a new Apple iPhone 17.

Electricity, gas, water: Energy consumption at Oktoberfest

Until October 5, the world's largest folk festival was able to run smoothly thanks to the energy specialists at Stadtwerke München (SWM). As in 2024, the Oktoberfest was supplied with 100 percent green electricity. The electricity consumption of approximately 2.8 million kWh over 16 days is the same as in 2024. The highest daily peak was measured on Friday, October 3, at 7:30 p.m. with 12,962 kW. After 16 days, water consumption was around 81,000 m³, which is about 0.4 percent lower than in 2024. The highest daily consumption was measured on the first hot Saturday, September 20, at 6,430 m³. Gas consumption after 16 days of Oktoberfest was approximately 144,500 m³, which is about 7.3 percent lower than consumption in 2024.
Consumption at the ten drinking fountains totaled around 130 m³ after 16 days (last year's consumption was 84 m³). The drinking fountain with the highest consumption is the one behind the Ochsenbraterei, with a consumption of around 23 m³. The drinking water fountains were used a total of 112,000 times.

KVR – Food Safety

The Food Safety Department of the District Administration Office was represented at this year's Oktoberfest by seven food inspectors. On the festival grounds (including the “Oide Wiesn”), 392 businesses were subject to constant inspections by the Food Safety Department. The kitchens in the festival tents were inspected two days before the Wiesn opened. During the Oktoberfest, the premises were regularly checked to ensure that operating, product, and personnel hygiene standards were being met and that goods were being delivered correctly. A total of 1,076 inspections were carried out by the food inspection authorities on the festival grounds and 83 samples of food and consumer goods were taken, including beer and ready-made meals. Complaints received from consumers were investigated immediately.
Eight samples of pork sausages were taken from festival tents and sausage grills for the sausage inspection commission.
Regular monitoring of food businesses at the Oktoberfest made it possible to prevent deficiencies from arising. Minor deficiencies in terms of operational and product hygiene and internal controls were usually remedied immediately in the presence of the inspectors.
The District Administration Office reports that the food businesses at the Oktoberfest have a high standard of hygiene.

Health Department

The Health Department was very satisfied with the drinking water hygiene, jug rinsing hygiene, and cleanliness in public areas. This continued the successful trend of previous years. The water at the drinking fountains, which is checked daily, is flawless.

TÜV

The erection of tents, stalls, and rides, as well as the necessary safety inspections, were completed within the scheduled time frame this year.
Tents and rides were repeatedly checked at random, in cooperation with the Department of Urban Planning and Building Regulations, to ensure compliance with operating regulations, among other things. No significant violations were found.
From a technical safety perspective, the Oktoberfest was uneventful and peaceful.

Building Department – Street Cleaning

The daily cleaning of the festival grounds went off without a hitch for the street cleaning department.
An electric vehicle and a small sweeper were also used during the day on the festival grounds, as far as the crowds allowed. In addition, the areas in front of the Bavaria statue were cleaned once or twice a day on behalf of the festival management.
(Final report to follow in the RU).

Waste Management Company

The Munich Waste Management Company (AWM) disposed of a total of 764 tons of waste by October 3. Compared to the same period in 2024, when 872 tons were disposed of, this represents a decrease of around 12.4 percent.

MVG

The MVG reported slightly fewer passengers than in the previous year, but on October 3, passenger numbers rose significantly again due to the weather.
Due to the large crowds during the evening departure, the Theresienwiese and Goetheplatz stations had to be closed repeatedly for short periods, but this did not cause any further problems. Passengers were in good spirits and remained largely peaceful.

Committed effort by all involved

All departments in the service center did a great job this year under challenging circumstances. The festival management would like to thank all colleagues and suppliers for their smooth and excellent cooperation!