Rock, Classics, Champions League

RIEDEL Magazine, Issue 01 Spring 2025 | Text: Stephanie Geiger | Reading time: 6 minutes

Munich’s calendar of events is packed full right up until the summer. Text: Stephanie Geiger

Note on the edition

This article is taken from the Spring 2025 issue of RIEDEL Magazine and was a preview of the months ahead at the time. All the dates mentioned have now passed. The text remains as a retrospective on Munich’s cultural and sporting year in 2025. For up-to-date information on events, please refer to the websites of the respective venues and the City of Munich.

Keep your eyes peeled for great art

Painting of three sated men lying stretched out in the grass under a tree, surrounded by food and utensils. — Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1525–1569), *The Land of Milk and Honey*, 1567, oak; 51.5 x 78.3 cm

In Munich, the motto this year is once again: keep an eye out for great art! Numerous outstanding special exhibitions will once again attract visitors from all over the world. At the Alte Pinakothek, a new special exhibition opening on 5 June, amongst other things, will focus on storytelling and the narratives conveyed by selected paintings by artists such as Albrecht Altdorfer and Peter Paul Rubens.

Famous paintings by Carl Spitzweg and Carl Rottmann from the Neue Pinakothek’s collection will be on display at the Schack Collection whilst the Neue Pinakothek undergoes renovation, joining the extensive collection of works by the same artists already held there. The Pinakothek der Moderne is dedicating an exhibition to art from 1980 onwards, exploring eccentricity and the aesthetics of freedom. And at the Kunsthalle, the exhibition ‘Civilisation: How We Live Today’, featuring works by 150 internationally renowned photographers, traces the visible footprints of humanity around the globe.

Concerts ranging from baroque to rock

Photographic work showing a steeply rising rocket whose trajectory runs across the dark sky as a glowing trail. — “Civilisation: How We Live Today”, 11 April – 24 August 2025, Kunsthalle München, Theatinerstraße 8. Michael Najjar, orbital ascent, from the series outer space, 2016

Blue-lit stage in front of the Theatine Church, with packed rows of chairs in front at dusk. — An absolute highlight for lovers of classical music, year after year: ‘Klassik am Odeonsplatz’ – arguably Munich’s most beautiful open-air classical concert.

In churches, bookshops, banks, cinemas, cafés and pubs, the ‘Long Night of Music’ on 10 May will have Munich spellbound. On 13 April, the four virtuoso musicians of MAXJOSEPH will take to the stage at the Bergson-Kunstkraftwerk with fresh, light-footed and charming folk music, entirely free of kitsch, clichés and noise. And the Jazzrausch Big Band – described by the *Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung* as possessing “powerful sound, groove and enormous stage presence” – will send the audience at the Bergson into ecstasy at several concerts in March with their unique fusion of jazz, electronic music and classical music. The full programme of events at the Bergson can be explored on their website.

Rock and classical music will come together on 6 April at the Olympiahalle, where, at ‘Rock meets Classics’, Fran Cosmo, long-time lead singer of the US band “Boston”, and John Elefante, four-time Grammy winner and former singer and keyboardist with the band “Kansas”, will take to the stage.

Black-and-white band photo of five musicians standing side by side in front of a dark wall. — The American hard rock band Guns N' Roses are set to rock the Allianz Arena on 20 June as part of their “Because What You Want & What You Get Are Two Completely Different Things” tour.

Undoubtedly one of the highlights of this year’s musical calendar in Munich: on 20 March, the virtually sold-out concert by David Garrett, one of the most versatile musicians of our time. More than five million CDs sold and over six billion streams, plus more than 1,600 concerts in front of over four million fans – that’s the violin virtuoso’s track record to date.

Rock fans should mark 20 June in their diaries in bold. That’s when the legendary rock band Guns N’ Roses will be bringing the house down at the Allianz Arena in Munich with their explosive show. And on 26 July, superstar Robbie Williams will be gracing the Olympiastadion in Munich.

Portrait of a singer in a suit looking straight into the camera. — Let him entertain you: British singer Robbie Williams promises another spectacular musical show at the end of July in the Olympic Park.

Quite different, but just as prestigious: ‘Klassik am Odeonsplatz’ on 12 and 13 July, which is once again being sponsored by RIEDEL this year. From 27 June, the Munich Opera Festival will once again mark the end of the opera season with opera premieres, ballet, concerts, recitals and, taking centre stage, three major works by the Munich-born composer Richard Strauss.

The Nymphenburg Palace Concerts are no longer an insider’s tip; in the Hubertus Hall in the north wing of the palace, the programme features concerts with works from the Baroque and Classical periods. A tip: combine the concert evening with a three-course meal at the neighbouring palace restaurant as part of the ‘Dinner & Concert’ event. Indulgence is also the order of the day at the ‘Einhundert Prozent Champagne’ fair on 25 and 26 May, where, for the fourth time now, selected sommeliers from the Champagne region will be presenting their fine wines.

The Nymphenburg Palace Concerts are no longer an insider’s tip…

An illuminated Ferris wheel and fairground rides turn above the visitors’ heads at dusk. — Casual concerts, art and acrobatics, culinary delights, games and fun are all on offer once again this year at the Tollwood Festival, running from 19 June to 20 July.

Folk festival season

And once the weather warms up again, Munich once more entices visitors with a host of open-air events. From 25 April to 11 May, the Spring Festival on the Theresienwiese is traditionally the first major folk festival of the year, featuring shooting galleries, boat swings and large fairground rides such as the ‘XXL Racer’. The ‘little Wiesn’, as the Spring Festival is also known, also attracts visitors with festival tents such as the ‘Hippodrom’, where everyone who’s anyone gathers.

From 26 April to 4 May, the Maidult on Mariahilf-Platz in the Au is the place where children can find handmade doll’s dresses and small pieces of furniture for their doll’s houses to take home, whilst adults can browse for hand-pottered crockery from small workshops, timeless antiques and lovingly crafted arts and crafts.

Munich celebrates its 867th anniversary on 14 and 15 June with a craft village on Odeonsplatz, a Ferris wheel on Wittelsbacherplatz and numerous stages throughout the Old Town. Following on from this, the Tollwood Festival will once again take place in the Olympic Park from 19 June to 20 July, where jazz, rock and pop concerts will delight fans, whilst theatre, fascinating art and acrobatic performances will amaze the audience.

And once the weather warms up again, Munich will once more entice visitors with numerous open-air events.

UEFA Champions League Final

Stadium shell glowing red at night, surrounded by the lights of the access roads. — This year, the Allianz Arena is not only hosting the Champions League final, but will also be the venue for, amongst other things, the legendary Guns N' Roses rock concert on 20 June 2025.

Sports fans are also in for a real treat this spring. The tennis world’s eyes will be on Munich in mid-April, when the BMW Open takes place at the MTTC Iphitos grounds on Aumeister. And then, of course, there’s the final of the 70th Champions League season, which will take place on 31 May at the Allianz Arena. Not to mention the golf tournament organised by RIEDEL Immobilien, which will be held once again at the Munich Golf Club in early July.

This small selection alone shows just how much is on offer in Munich this spring. Whether it’s exhibitions, concerts, events or sporting fixtures, with such a wide variety on offer, there’s sure to be something for everyone.

RIEDEL’s perspective

The sheer variety of the programme is a point that is rarely mentioned during sightseeing tours, yet it still makes an impression. Anyone moving to Munich from a smaller town almost always underestimates just how much is going on here at any one time. When it comes to assessing a property’s location, this means that proximity to the Olympic Park, Theresienwiese or the Old Town is not just a leisure factor; it also has a direct impact on demand.

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