Festivalinfos EN

The number of places at the Winterthur Musikfestwochen are limited. Entrances may be closed if the festival site becomes too crowded. We want to ensure your safety. Therefore, we recommend an early arrival time.

We recommend using public transport, walking, or taking the bicycle. The festival is only a 5-minute walk from Winterthur’s main train station. This is our location: Google Maps.

The bus stops at Stadthaus, Schmidgasse and Technikum. Stadtbus Winterthur

Payment methods at the festival site are Twint, Maestro, MasterCard, Visa, V-Pay.

These locations also accept cash: Container Bar, Mampferei, Onthur Bar, Infopoint, Infopoint Bar and Craft Beer Bar 

At the Café Roulotte theatre on the Viehmarkt, you can only pay in cash.

The festival area is glass, can and PET free. Brought drinks must be filled into returnable cups at the entrances. You can bring your own food, but no Tupperware. Also, every drink or meal you purchase on our festival area makes it possible for us to give you nine days of free concerts.

Water bottles have to stay outside, so leave yours at home. If you do have one with you, you can leave it by the entrance and pick it up when you leave. If your water bottle isn’t at the entrance you left it at, it’s likely at the entrance by the Stadtkriche.

Leave your rucksack at home or in the office, then we don’t have to check your bag, and everyone, including you, enters the festival site quicker and with less hassle.

And leave your umbrella at home for our main weekend, so there’s more stage visibility and fun for everyone.

Over 100 acts will perform on 7 stages at the MFW.

• Our big main stage will be on Steinberggasse for 12 days. This is also where our paid main weekend takes place.
• The second largest stage is on the Kirchplatz.
• From 11 to 20 August, the Café Roulotte theatre offers a wonderful program of cabaret and fine food. Where is it? On the Viehmarkt.
• The Steibi is also home to the Startrampe, our newcomer stage.
• The Stadtkirche is also the venue for MFW on three evenings (14 – 16 August).
• The Gewerbemuseum will host our Music over Lunch format four times.
• Our smallest stage? The street music stage. When and where? In the early evening, somewhere on the site!

You are allowed to film and take photos with your smartphone. However, leaving your phone in your bag, is even better.

For professional audio and video recordings, a media accreditation is required.

Our photography and video team take videos and

It’s best to leave valuables, water bottles and bags at home.

Have you lost something? Lost property can be picked up at the Information desk during the festival. After the festival they will be stored at the MFW office for one week and then handed over to the city’s lost property office. Wallets, smartphones, and keys are handed in daily to the lost property office. Our office is located at Holderplatz 2, 8400 Winterthur.

Concerts or performances may contain lights, flashes and strobo effects. If you rely on low stimulus settings, we recommend you visit our relaxed performances in the Gewerbemuseum.

It can get very loud during the concerts. The loud noises can damage your ears, so protect you hearing. Earplugs are available for free at the Info Point and at all food and drink stands on site.

At free concerts, the average sound level doesn’t exceed 96 dB(A), and at the paid concerts, it doesn’t exceed 100 dB(A).

Food and music belong to the Musikfestwochen. All of our stalls provide non-meat meals and when we do sell meat, it’s of swiss origin.

Food and Drink is available every day from 18.00.

At the Info Point you can find answers to all of your enquiries. Our staff is happy to help. This is also where you’ll find hearing protection, rain covers, our program newspaper and tickets for the main weekend.

There is also a range of band and MFW merchandise available for purchase. Coucoukunst-Prints are also available at the Info Point.

Our awareness team is also located at the Info Point.

• Earplugs for children of all ages are available at the Info Point (while supplies last).
• In the evening you can change your baby’s nappy and breastfeed at the Youth Centre (Jungendhaus), Steinberggasse 31.
• On the children afternoons there will be a nappy-changing and breastfeeding tent on the church square. (Kirchplatz)
• Cool for all kids: Our family program.
• Parents or guardians take on full responsibility for their child.
• Children under 12 years do not require a ticket on the main weekend

The first nine days are free. This is unique in Switzerland. And it only works if everyone contributes. You can send support via Twint or add to the donation box at the festival. You can also become a volunteer, buy merch, donate cups, become a member, a patron or a Herzblut member. THANK YOU!

Sustainability is a process. We’re right in the middle of it. We want to make sure that festivals can still happen in the future. We want to be a festival for all and are committed to long-term sustainability.

We want to be a place where everyone feels welcome and accepted. But even at our music festival, we are not immune to transgressive behavior. That’s why we need to take responsibility, look out for each other and work together to combat all forms of discrimination. Respect the boundaries of others. Only yes means yes. Are you experiencing or witnessing a boundary violation? Contact the Awareness-Team.

On our free concert days, the site (and therefore the food stalls) generally opens at 6pm. 

Pssst – Respect the Artist. This is very important to us: Show appreciation for the artists on stage and respect for other visitors who want to listen. Those who prefer to chat rather than listen to the music are of course welcome to do so – but please do so in the back areas.

We do our best to make your festival visit memorable. Our teams will help you:

• Our paramedic team (at the info point and on patrol) will help you with any health issues.
• Our security team (on patrol and at the entrances) will keep you safe.
• Our Awareness-Team (at the Info Point, on patrol and on 077 452 35 35 / awareness@musikfestwochen.ch) is there if you experience or witness discriminatory behavior or transgression.

Help us:

• Do not hesitate to contact our helpers if you need help. Our helpers can call out for help on their radio.
• Be aware of the people around you in the crowd.
• Help other people if they need help – and contact us.
• Have fun, be nice and follow our few rules. Thank you!

From 6. – 14. August ALL events are free, with collection/donations. From 9. – 17. August, all events at the Roulotte are free. You don’t need tickets for these events, you can just turn up. But important, capacity is limited – so get there early! We will close entrances if there is a large crowd or if maximum capacity is reached.

Paid main weekend: There is a charge for the main weekend concerts from 15. -17. August, tickets can be purchased through seetickets.ch or at the Tourist Information at Winterthur Main Station.

• Children under the age of 16 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian, or by an adult with written parental consent.
• Children under the age of 12 do not require a ticket.
• By purchasing a ticket you agree to our terms & conditions.
• Please only purchase your ticket through our official advance sale channels – don’t give the secondary ticket market a chance.

The Musikfestwochen are the work of many, and are only possible with the support of many. Here’s how to support us:

• With a patronage, a «Herzblut» membership or a club membership.
• With a team event, a customer aperitif or a party on the festival site.
• As a partner with a heartfelt collaboration
• As a volunteer
• By buying your beer from us and donating to the collection.

You can find all the ways you can support us  here.

Want to go shopping, grab an ice cream or sit in a cute café before yo head to a concert? Here is an overview of all shops, cafés, restaurants and everything else the old town has to offer.

Our festival area is nearly obstacle free, except for the decks of the Schlemmerei and Mampferei. For a cobblestone-free journey, we recommend the route via Technikumstrasse-Steiggasse-Steinberggasse. Disabled toilets are available. More information on accessibility can be found here: musikfestwochen.ch/zugang. There is a barrier-free plattform on the Steinberggasse.

Please contact us (and your companion) for a seat reservation at kulturbegleitung@musikfestwochen.ch or via the form. For the paid concerts, people who depend on an assistant can bring this person free of charge.

We thank the  Stiftung Cerebral  for their support.