The traditional opening of this year’s Oktoberfest at the Schottenhamel Festhalle will go ahead as planned. GSK Stockmann successfully represented Festhalle Schottenhamel GmbH & Co. OHG in summary proceedings before the Bavarian Higher Regional Court, preventing the block on awarding the contract from being extended.
A GSK Stockmann team led by Munich-based partner Dr Wolfgang Würfel had previously achieved a favourable outcome for Festhalle Schottenhamel in review proceedings before the South Bavarian Public Procurement Tribunal. The Tribunal dismissed a competitor’s application to review the allocation of stand locations for the Schottenhamel and Paulaner festival tents at the 2026 Munich Oktoberfest, deeming it inadmissible. After lodging an immediate appeal against this decision, the opposing party filed an urgent motion to extend the suspensive effect of its appeal. The Bavarian Higher Regional Court dismissed this motion with final effect on 18 June 2026. The principal proceedings are still ongoing.
The Schottenhamel family has been running their tent of the same name at the Oktoberfest for almost 160 years. In 1950, the then Lord Mayor Thomas Wimmer officially tapped the first keg in the Schottenhamel festival tent for the very first time, opening the festival with the words “O’zapft is!” (Bavarian for “It’s been tapped”), a tradition that continues to this day. Various attempts have been made to sue for a stand at the event, but so far without success. However, this recent appeal to the Public Procurement Tribunal, including an immediate appeal to the Public Procurement Division of the Bavarian Higher Regional Court, is a new development.
In the review proceedings, a competing proprietor had challenged the allocation of stands for the festival tents before the South Bavarian Public Procurement Tribunal. The defendant is the City of Munich; Schottenhamel and Paulaner were admitted as third parties to the proceedings. The applicant argued that the city’s award procedure for the tents constituted a service concession and should therefore have been put out to tender across the EU. The Public Procurement Tribunal rejected the application as inadmissible. In response, the unsuccessful applicant lodged an immediate appeal with the Bavarian Higher Regional Court. As an appeal was pending, the city could not award the contract to any bidder until 19 June 2026. The competitor’s urgent motion to extend this restriction was rejected with final effect on 18 June 2026. Although no final decision has yet been made in the principal proceedings, this ruling ensures that the 2026 Oktoberfest will at least go ahead as usual.
Beyond this specific case, these proceedings will have fundamental implications for future awarding practices at the Oktoberfest and all other major cultural festivals.
Advisers of Festhalle Schottenhamel GmbH & Co. OHG at GSK Stockmann:
Dr Wolfgang Würfel (lead, Partner, Public Procurement, Commercial Administrative Law), Fabian Schiefner (Senior Associate, Public Procurement); Dr Antonius Jonetzki (Partner, Litigation); Patrick Zimmermann (Research Assistant, Public Procurement)
