How to find your friends at Oktoberfest

• The network is overloaded. With hundreds of thousands of people on the grounds at once, calls and messages often arrive late – or not at all.
• The tents are huge. The large beer tents hold several thousand people. “I’m in the tent” hardly helps your friends.
• Full tents close. On busy days, tents are closed because they are full. If you’re stuck outside, you can’t get to your group any more.
• It’s loud. Phone calls inside a tent are practically impossible.

Arrange to meet at a fixed, unmistakable spot – not “at the entrance” or “outside the tent”: the Theresienwiese has several entrances, and the large tents have several doors. A good meeting point is easy to find, away from the crowds and easy to describe precisely.

The Bavaria statue at the edge of the grounds is a popular choice. On busy days, though, lots of groups wait there – so agree on a specific spot, and also on how long you’ll wait before heading off without the others.

The name of the tent isn’t enough. Add which area you’re sitting in: the central hall (Mittelschiff), one of the boxes along the sides (Boxen), the gallery (Galerie – only some tents have one) or outside in the beer garden (Biergarten). If you have a reservation, share the box or table number.

Landmarks that are visible from everywhere help too – such as the brass band – as does a photo of your table or of the view across the tent.

Send your spot as soon as you’ve sat down – don’t wait until your friends ask. In the morning and early afternoon, messages still get through reliably; in the evening, often they don’t.

Live location sharing in messaging apps helps outside on the grounds. Inside a tent, though, GPS is imprecise and can’t tell whether you’re downstairs in the central hall or up in the gallery.

• Agree where to meet if you lose each other – for example at the meeting point on the hour, every hour.
• Bring a power bank. When your phone keeps searching for a signal, the battery drains faster than usual.
• If someone splits off, they say where they’re going first – a short message is enough, as long as it still gets through.

FindMyWiesn is a map of the Theresienwiese where you pin your seat inside the tent and share it with a link – no app to download, no sign-up.

1. Pick your tent on the map or from the list.
2. Pin your seat on the tent plan. Most large tents have a schematic seating plan with areas such as the central hall, gallery and beer garden.
3. Add a note and photos – say, “third box on the left, under the antlers”.
4. Send the link to your group. Your friends see exactly where you are and can add their own spot. Changes show up for everyone instantly.

FindMyWiesn also needs a moment of signal to send the link – so share it before it gets crowded. Shared links expire seven days after the last change; after that, everything is deleted.

Open the Oktoberfest map