On Saturday 10 October 2026, Rooms at the Guildbourne Centre will once again be transformed into Worthing's very own beer hall, complete with long tables, live entertainment, food, music and enough raised glasses to make you temporarily forget you are upstairs in a shopping centre.

And, really, that is part of the charm.

For one day only, Worthing gets to behave a little bit like Munich.

A proper excuse to get everyone together

Oktoberfest has never really been about quietly sitting in the corner with a drink.

It is loud.

It is social.

It is about long tables, big groups, people singing songs they may or may not know the words to and, inevitably, at least one person taking the fancy dress much more seriously than everybody else.

That is exactly the kind of atmosphere Worthing Oktoberfest is aiming to bring back this year.

There will be two sessions on the day, giving people the choice between an afternoon celebration from 12pm until 4.30pm or an evening session from 6.30pm until 10.30pm.

Both promise the same basic ingredients: beer, music, food, entertainment and a room full of people very quickly becoming considerably more friendly with the table next to them.

Because that is really what makes Oktoberfest work.

You might arrive with five friends.

By the end of the evening, you have somehow made twenty-seven.

The beer hall experience without the flight to Germany

The original Oktoberfest in Munich attracts millions of visitors every year, but the formula behind it is actually quite simple.

Get lots of people together.

Give them food.

Give them music.

Give them very large glasses.

Let nature take its course.

Worthing's version brings that same sense of occasion into the heart of the town, without the inconvenience of getting on a plane or trying to explain to airport security why you are carrying lederhosen.

There is something wonderfully silly about walking into the Guildbourne Centre and suddenly finding yourself surrounded by long tables, German-themed decorations, music and hundreds of people enthusiastically yelling "Prost!"

But events do not always need to be serious.

Sometimes Worthing just needs a good party.

Two sessions, one very Bavarian Saturday

This year's Worthing Oktoberfest takes place on Saturday 10 October 2026.

The first session runs from 12pm to 4.30pm, while the evening session kicks off at 6.30pm and runs until 10.30pm.

General admission tickets are available, while groups looking to make a proper occasion of it can also book VIP tables.

And this is exactly the kind of event where bringing a group makes sense.

Birthdays.

Work nights out.

Old friends.

New friends.

That one mate who owns lederhosen for reasons nobody has ever fully understood.

Everyone is welcome.

And yes, there is a local story behind it too

Worthing businessman Phil Duckett has been involved in a number of well-known projects around the town over the years and remains an important part of the story behind Worthing Oktoberfest.

Duckett will already be a familiar name to many local residents.

He was involved in the redevelopment of the Southern Pavilion on Worthing Pier, helping transform the historic Art Deco building into a modern events and hospitality venue.

He is also closely associated with Worthing Gin, the locally branded spirit which launched in 2019 and quickly became another recognisable Worthing product.

So Oktoberfest fits rather neatly into that history.

There has long been a theme running through Duckett's involvement in the town: hospitality, events, local identity and finding slightly more interesting things for people to do.

But while the organiser is part of the story, Oktoberfest itself has grown into something that very much belongs to the people who turn up.

Because once the music starts and the room fills up, nobody is thinking about business histories.

They are thinking about whether they can carry six steins at once.

Why events like this matter

Worthing has become considerably better at enjoying itself.

Over the last decade the town has developed a stronger independent food and drink scene, more events, more venues and a growing sense that you no longer necessarily have to head to Brighton every time you want something different to do.

Oktoberfest is a good example of that.

It is not trying to reinvent nightlife.

It is simply giving people a reason to get together and have a laugh.

And during October, when the evenings are getting darker, summer feels like a distant memory and everybody is beginning to remember where they left their winter coat, that is no bad thing.

For a few hours, Rooms at the Guildbourne Centre becomes a Bavarian beer hall.

People dress up.

People sing.

People raise enormous glasses.

And people inevitably wake up the following morning with several photographs they do not remember being taken.

That sounds like a successful Oktoberfest to us.

Worthing, get your steins ready

Whether you are there for the beer, the music, the food, the fancy dress or simply because your friends have convinced you that wearing a feathered hat into Worthing town centre is completely normal, Oktoberfest is shaping up to be another memorable Saturday.

Worthing Oktoberfest takes place at Rooms, upstairs at the Guildbourne Centre, Worthing, on Saturday 10 October 2026.

The daytime session runs from 12pm to 4.30pm, with the evening session running from 6.30pm to 10.30pm.

So dust off the lederhosen.

Practise saying "Prost!"

And prepare for Worthing to become very slightly German for the day.