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Tollwood Summer Festival Returns to Munich's Olympiapark With 466 Events
Running until 19 July under the motto 'With feeling, not just there', more than 80 per cent of the programme is free to attend.
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The Tollwood summer festival has once again taken over the Olympiapark, bringing music, theatre and a sprawling market to the south of the site. This year's edition opened on 19 June and runs until 19 July 2026 under the motto 'Mit Gefühl statt nur dabei' ('With feeling, not just there'), which organisers describe as a call to reclaim empathy.
For roughly a month, the festival hosts live music from around the world in its tents alongside theatre and performance groups, set against the backdrop of its colourful 'market of ideas' with arts, crafts and organic food from many countries. A total of 466 events are planned this year, and organisers say more than 80 per cent of them are free to attend.
One of the most eye-catching guests is 'Little Amal', a 3.5-metre puppet representing a ten-year-old Syrian refugee girl. Operated by three puppeteers, the artwork has toured the world in recent years and featured in the festival's opening programme. A large anatomical heart installation at the entrance, with a walk-in chamber, sets the tone for this year's theme.
Regular attractions return for 2026, including communal singing (Rudelsingen), a redesigned amphitheatre and the popular silent disco, for which organisers ordered extra headphones this year to meet demand. The programme mixes big draws with smaller, participatory activities spread across the festival grounds.
With temperatures forecast to climb above 30C during the festival, Tollwood is for the first time running a comprehensive heat-protection concept. That includes noticeably more shaded areas, cool zones with water walls, and several fans distributing a fine mist, alongside a converted sauna barrel repurposed to help visitors keep cool.
The festival is one of the anchors of Munich's summer calendar, sitting alongside the concerts staged elsewhere in the Olympiapark. Its combination of free admission to most events, food from around the world and a strong cultural programme continues to draw large crowds to the park each June and July.
Tollwood has run for more than 30 years, and festival director Rita Rottenwallner and her team chose this year's empathy-focused motto as a response to a culture they see as increasingly mediated by screens and emojis. The festival positions itself as a place for genuine encounters, offering countless niches, activities and food and shopping options across its grounds.