Why Is Cardiff Celebrating Oktoberfest? The Curious Story Behind the World’s Biggest Beer Festival
LEDERHOSEN, steins, Oompa bands and bratwurst may seem a long way from Cardiff.
But this weekend, the Welsh capital is getting a distinctly Bavarian flavour.
At DEPOT Cardiff, Friday night brings a Bingo Lingo Oktoberfest Special, complete with steins, a live Oompa band, festive games and themed décor. Doors open at 6pm, with the event running until 11pm.
Then on Saturday, Tiger Yard begins its own Oktoberfest celebrations in Cardiff Bay, the first of four Saturday events running on October 3, 10, 17 and 24.
Each day is split into two sessions, from noon to 4.30pm and 5pm to 9.30pm, with live Oompa music, German street food, steins and Bavarian-themed games.
So how did a royal wedding in Bavaria more than 200 years ago end up inspiring parties in Cardiff?
The answer is rather more interesting than you might expect.
It all began with a wedding
The first Oktoberfest was held in Munich in 1810 to celebrate the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria, who later became King Ludwig I, and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen.
The wedding took place on October 12, and the public celebrations continued for several days.
The grand finale came on October 17, when a horse race was held on a meadow outside Munich.
That meadow was named Theresienwiese, or Therese’s Meadow, in honour of the bride.
More than two centuries later, Oktoberfest is still held on the same site. In Munich it is commonly known simply as the Wiesn.
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No beer tents at the beginning
One of the most surprising things about the first Oktoberfest is what it did not have.
There were no giant beer tents.
There were no elaborate fairground rides.
There were no sprawling food halls or international visitors flying in from around the world.
The original festival was essentially a public celebration centred on the royal wedding and the horse race.
The event proved popular enough to be repeated, and over the decades it gradually evolved.
Agricultural displays were added. Food and drink became increasingly important. Fairground entertainment developed, and eventually the huge beer tents that are now so closely associated with Oktoberfest became part of the tradition.
What began as a one-off royal celebration slowly became one of the biggest annual events on the planet.
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Why is Oktoberfest mostly in September?
There is another obvious question.
If it is called Oktoberfest, why does so much of it take place in September?
The simple answer is the weather.
Over time, organisers shifted more of the festival into September to make the most of longer evenings and generally milder conditions, while still keeping the traditional finale in early October.
The 2026 Munich Oktoberfest runs from September 19 to October 4 at the Theresienwiese.
That means Cardiff’s Oktoberfest celebrations this weekend are not merely borrowing the name out of season.
They are taking place while the original Munich festival is still in full swing.
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From Munich to the world
Oktoberfest has long since become an international phenomenon.
Versions of it are staged across Europe, North America, Australia and elsewhere, often combining Bavarian music, beer-hall traditions, German food and fancy dress.
The atmosphere has become almost as important as the beer itself.
Lederhosen and dirndl dresses, brass bands, communal tables, pretzels and steins have become instantly recognisable symbols of the event.
Cardiff’s versions follow much the same recipe.
At DEPOT, Oktoberfest is being folded into the venue’s high-energy Bingo Lingo format, while Tiger Yard is turning its container venue into a Bavarian-style party space across four Saturdays.
It is less about trying to recreate Munich exactly and more about borrowing the spirit of the festival.
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Cardiff gives it a Welsh twist
And perhaps that is part of the appeal.
Cardiff has become increasingly comfortable borrowing international traditions and reshaping them in its own way.
Christmas markets, food festivals, international sporting occasions and themed events now sit alongside more traditional Welsh celebrations.
Oktoberfest fits neatly into that mix.
Nobody is likely to confuse Cardiff Bay with Bavaria.
But for a few weekends in October, the sound of brass bands, the sight of foaming steins and the smell of German-style street food might just make the distance feel a little shorter.
And for those who prefer their Oktoberfest history with a Welsh connection, there is another useful thought.
This weekend’s events provide a neat reminder that Wales has long had cultural, commercial and personal links with Germany — something Ewegottalove will be explores in more detail in its Wales and Germany feature in Wales Around the World.
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DID EWE KNOW?
The original Oktoberfest in 1810 did not feature beer tents at all. The public celebration ended with a horse race held in honour of a royal wedding — and the meadow where it took place still carries the bride’s name more than 200 years later.