New in 2025

Every year we try to provide as much information as possible about the big and small innovations at the Oktoberfest. That's why this article will be continuously updated until the Oktoberfest begins. The construction began 2025 on June 30.

For years, we have been criticizing the uninviting appearance of the entrance on Schaustellertraße. Although it is certainly welcome news that toilet facilities and a drinking fountain are now being installed there, it is to be feared that the entrance will still not be adequately upgraded. The wheat beer bar that has been located there until now will have to make way.

Beer Prices

The beer prices were increased as expected. The individual tents are charging between €14.50 and €15.80 for a liter of Oktoberfest beer this year. Some extreme price increases for non-alcoholic drinks are regrettable. You can learn more about that in our analysis.

Grim Reaper Beats Heart Attack Again

Non licensing the Herzkasperl tent in 2024 caused so much excitement that the application requirements were even adjusted. Surprisingly, it didn't help. With just one point, Boandlkramerei (the grim reaper's place) once again overtakes the Herzkasperl (heart attack) and takes the place of the musicians' tent at Oide Wiesn. Nevertheless, host Josef Bachmaier does not want to give up and will apply again in 2026.

Fewer Reservation-Free Seats

The landlords of the large tents have been pushing for an increase of the reservation capacities for some time. Their main hope is to be able to increase turnover by emptying a larger number of tables - especially on Saturday afternoons - and filling them with a fresh crowd. From now on, 10% of capacity may be reserved for Munich residents without a minimum consumption on weekends and public holidays all day. Previously, only 7.5% was reserved for this purpose before 3 pm.

It will be interesting to see whether this change will also make the regulation relevant for the tents that have so far waived special reservations for Munich residents.

Other News from the Tents

Not many people know that the Armbrustschützenzelt has a bar called Halali, to the left of the entrance. Nevertheless, or perhaps even because of this, it is set to triple in size this year and will also be accessible from outside. Even coffee will be served there.

With a year delay, Wirtshaus im Schichtl will also receive a bar, called Papa-Schichtl-Bar.

Festzelt Tradition is extending its senior citizens' morning to both Mondays. On these days, admission to the Oide Wiesn will be credited toward food and drink purchases for over 60-year-olds arriving before noon. In addition, there will be itinerant pickle sellers again for the first time since 2010.

Schottenhamel Festhalle is optimizing the southern beer garden by relocating the beer containers at the rear end. This will allow the seating to be adjusted and an additional parasol to be installed.

Bräurosl will also receive umbrellas now as well as a little touch up for its menu.

Cashless Payment Is Becoming Wider Available

Cash has been the only way for most visitors to the Oktoberfest to pay their bills. This is likely to remain the case for some time, but this ironclad rule is slowly beginning to break down. While cashless payment has been already possible in some cases in recent years, and even via vending machines at some rides, the number of businesses accepting card payments will grow to an impressive 160 in 2025.

Two of these are particularly noteworthy this year: the Armbrustschützenzelt is testing new mobile payment terminals with around a dozen waiters on the first weekend. If successful, all teams will be equipped with them on the following Monday or Tuesday. This is a rather delicate undertaking. For one thing, there will only be one device per team. This means that out of the usual three or four waiters, only one will be able to accept card payments. That means that one person would have to be called over by the other ones if necessary.

Even more critical, however, is certainly the tipping behavior of the guests. Various studies have shown that card payers tend to tip less. If this is confirmed at the Wiesn and reduces the waiters' earnings accordingly, this payment option will not be very popular among them. At the other end of the spectrum, there is a fear that high tips will be systematically and aggressively demanded. Until now, this has been a matter of individual character. Especially foreigners can easily have a bad experience in that regard. We are following developments with great interest.

The Münchner Stubn goes one step further. Its landlords remove cash altogether. Since this is a small tent where distances are shorter and the proportion of unreserved tables is low, but the average bill is high, the potential for friction is generally lower. Nevertheless, the total abolition of cash is not desirable from the customer's point of view.

Song Contest

For the first time this year, there will be a music competition to promote Bavarian music at the Oktoberfest. Its aim is worthy of all honor, after all, the beer tent crowd is currently shaking on the beer benches mainly to Anglo-American pop music and mallorca schlager. However, the winner will not be chosen until September 15 and therefore has little chance of finding its way into Munich's ear canals in time.

As a rule, songs suitable for the Oktoberfest crystallize over the summer in other beer tents. Additionally, the “Wiesn hits” that we receive every year are unfortunately of appalling quality. The competition would have to produce songs of a much higher quality to have any chance of success. Hearing more Bavarian music at the Oktoberfest, both old and new, would be a very welcome development.

Interested participants had to submit their work to the city by the end of May. After a selection by a jury, a public vote followed in June. The three most popular songs will be presented at the Brass Wiesn on August 2. The winner will be chosen in a further vote by September 15 and will be presented at the press tour just two days before the Oktoberfest opens.