Culture for all: Since the late eighties, the Tollwood Festival has stood for an atmosphere of tolerance, internationality and openness. In addition to the cosy winter Tollwood on the Theresienwiese, there is also an annual Tollwood summer festival in the Olympiapark - with lots of street food, concerts and cultural programmes.
“Tollwood”, as it is simply known in Munich, takes place twice a year. During the Christmas season, the Theresienwiese hosts the Winter Tollwood, in summer, the Olympiapark (Olympic Park) is transformed into the venue for this multicultural festival for about 30 days. This year, the Tollwood Summer Festival takes place from 19 June to 19 July 2026.
Tollwood has chosen “With feeling rather than just being there – reclaiming empathy” as the theme for the 2026 summer festival. Running from 19 June to 19 July at Olympiapark Süd, the festival will thus explore a quality that is crucial to social interaction. Through installations, activities and performances, we invite the audience to rediscover and consciously experience a powerful human force.
At the centre is a larger-than-life anatomical heart with two emotional experience spaces. The cover of the festival magazine also takes up this motif, showing a heart that opens its rigid shell and releases its vibrant emotions.
Tollwood can also be described with confidence as one of the birthplaces of the street food movement: around 50 food stalls can be found at the event, offering international delicacies – and the food is almost entirely organic. The market invites people to linger and enjoy, as it offers a range of handicrafts and gastronomic delights from every continent, and many points where visitors can enjoyably interact with the exhibitors. Over 90% of the events at the festival have no cover charge.
New this year are the arts and crafts village, where artists show their skills in blacksmithing, pottery and carving, and a children's tent with an organic kitchen. The children's kitchen offers workshops and cooking classes, and in the other children's area there are craft activities.
Monday to Friday from 2 pm
Saturday and Sunday from 11 am
Most of the cultural programme at the Tollwood Summer Festival is free. Every day, for example, families can experience artistry and acrobatics in the circus for free admission. Live bands play in the tents and on the open-air stages, and a silent disco invites you to dance.
Tollwood season is, of course, also concert season: newcomers, current chart-toppers and legends, German and international stars, all make a point of showcasing their talents on the stage of the Musik-Arena. This year, 32 concerts will take place under the big top, featuring acts such as BEAT, Rick Astley, Joss Stone, Emeli Sandé, Anastacia and Marla Glen. New additions this year include targeted measures to combat the heat: more shaded areas, misting systems, more greenery, a cooling oasis in the Löwengarten and the ‘Water Task Force’. After all, climate protection and climate adaptation go hand in hand, both at the festival and throughout the city.
