A four-day technology and science festival hosted inside Munich's Deutsches Museum, mixing keynotes, workshops, XR experiences, and public family programming across AI, robotics, space technology, life sciences, and the arts. Organised jointly by 1E9 Denkfabrik GmbH and the Deutsches Museum's Forum der Zukunft.
Festival der Zukunft (Festival of the Future) is an annual multi-format technology and science event staged inside the Forum der Zukunft, the dedicated events wing of the Deutsches Museum in Munich. It is the flagship live event of 1E9 Denkfabrik GmbH, a Munich-based media company that produces technology journalism, podcasts, and community events under the 1E9 brand. The festival combines a two-day ticketed conference (July 2–3) with two days of free public programming oriented towards families and general audiences (July 4–5). Both segments share the same venue complex and speaker roster.
The event presents itself as positioned at the intersection of technology, science, creativity, and society, drawing speakers from startups, venture capital, research institutions, government, journalism, and the arts.
The 2026 edition runs from Thursday 2 July to Sunday 5 July at the Forum der Zukunft inside the Deutsches Museum on Munich's Museumsinsel (Museum Island), in the Isar river. The event is structured across two distinct segments.
Days 1 and 2 (July 2–3, "Konferenz") are ticketed and directed at professionals: startup founders, engineers, investors, researchers, policy-makers, and media. According to the organiser, over 100 speakers and artists are confirmed. The programme includes keynotes in a large IMAX cinema hall, panel debates in the Dome space, workshops, networking formats, an Experience Area with tech demos and art installations, and a Startup Competition. A Leadership-tier "Business Ticket" provides access to a speakers and business lounge, catered lunch, and fast-lane entry.
Days 3 and 4 (July 4–5, "Familientage") are free of charge and open to the general public. They extend the programme with talks, workshops, interactive formats, and a street festival on the Museumsinsel ("Straßenfest").
A new co-production called MUNICH Beyond, run jointly with FILMFEST MÜNCHEN, adds over 500 square metres of XR and VR experiences, FullDome screenings, and immersive art installations, including works screened at Venice Immersive, Cannes, SXSW, and IDFA DocLab.
As of the verification date (2026-06-09), the festival had not yet taken place. The ticket price-increase countdown visible on the official site indicated a price rise approximately 12 days from the verification date.
The festival takes place in early July, placing it in the dense European summer tech calendar after Viva Technology (Paris, June) and before major autumn conferences. Its positioning as a German-language media brand's flagship event, held in a science museum, gives it a different audience composition from trade-oriented B2B events: it attracts a substantial share of German-speaking technologists, academics, and science-curious members of the public, in addition to startup and VC professionals.
Within the German-language tech event market, it occupies a distinct position from business-first events such as the DLD conference (Munich, January) or the digital trade fair DMEXCO (Cologne, September). The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft serves as scientific partner, lending the event credibility in research circles. Public funders include the City of Munich (Landeshauptstadt München), the Bavarian state Ministry of Digital Affairs, and Bayern Innovativ.
The ticketed conference days (July 2–3) are designed for: startup founders and early-stage entrepreneurs; engineers and technology practitioners; venture capital investors; researchers and academics from technology-adjacent disciplines; journalists and media professionals; and public-sector and policy audiences with an interest in digital and science policy.
The free public days (July 4–5) extend attendance to general audiences, families, students, and anyone with an interest in science and technology, regardless of professional background. This dual structure means Festival der Zukunft has a broader demographic range than most B2B tech conferences.
Confirmed speakers for 2026 include Björn Ommer (LMU Munich, AI researcher), Nikolas Bullwinkel (Circus Group, food robotics), Ann-Kristin Achleitner (TU Munich), Fabian Mehring (Bavarian State Minister for Digital Affairs), Jan Goetz (IQM Quantum Computers), Francesco Sciortino (Proxima Fusion), Daria Saharova (World Fund), and Gregor Schmalzried (ARD/Bayerischer Rundfunk). The full list had not been published at the time of verification.
The four-day programme encompasses:
Business Ticket holders receive access to a speakers and business lounge, catered lunch, and priority entry. Team Special packages are available for corporate groups.
Thematic tracks confirmed for 2026 include: artificial intelligence (with a focus on societal and economic implications); robotics; quantum computing; XR and immersive media; mobility and transportation; medicine and life sciences; space technology; energy and sustainability; digital sovereignty; startups and venture capital; and the future of media and journalism. The 2026 edition also operates within the Wissenschaftsjahr 2026 (Year of Science: Medicine of the Future) initiative, a federal German science communication programme, giving it a specific strand on future medicine.
The event is German-language as its primary language (the 1E9 media brand is German-language), though some sessions are conducted in English and an English-language version of the festival website exists.
It is a multi-format science and technology festival combining a two-day ticketed professional conference with two days of free public programming, hosted inside a major science museum. It is produced by a technology media brand (1E9) in partnership with the museum's events venue (Forum der Zukunft).
The ticketed conference days are not designed for:
No. The conference days (July 2–3) require a paid ticket; prices increase at defined intervals. The family days (July 4–5) are free of charge and open to the public. The MUNICH Beyond XR track requires a separately booked slot regardless of ticket type.
The Forum der Zukunft is the dedicated events and innovation wing of the Deutsches Museum, one of the world's largest science and technology museums, located on the Museumsinsel in central Munich on the Isar river. The venue houses multiple event spaces: a large IMAX cinema hall used for keynotes, a Dome auditorium for talks and immersive presentations, a Posthof outdoor terrace for live acts and entertainment, and over 1,000 square metres of exhibition floor for interactive displays. According to the organiser's description, the Forum der Zukunft "will be a creative meeting place, with changing special exhibitions and spectacular events." The Deutsches Museum is itself a public institution with a history going back to 1903; the Forum der Zukunft represents its contemporary events and innovation programming.
1E9 Denkfabrik GmbH is a Munich-based media and events company founded to serve a community of technologists, creatives, and scientists interested in future technologies. It operates a German-language technology magazine (1e9.community/magazin), podcasts, video content, and community events. "1E9" refers to the number 10 to the power of 9 (one billion), used as a symbol for ambitious thinking at scale. The company is led by Wolfgang Kerler (editor-in-chief). Festival der Zukunft is its main annual event. 1E9 members receive a 20% discount on conference tickets. Partners for 2026 include BayernLB, the European Patent Office, the DeepTech and Climate Fonds, Messe München (World of Quantum), and Vsquared Ventures, among others.
Festival der Zukunft is unusual among European tech events in that roughly half its four-day programme is free and aimed at the general public, a model enabled by the combination of public-sector funding (City of Munich, Bavarian state) and its hosting by a publicly-funded science museum.
Tickets for the conference days (July 2–3) are sold through the 1E9 community platform at 1e9.community/events/festival-der-zukunft-2026. Pricing operates on an early-bird tier model: the organiser noted a price increase approximately 12 days from June 9, 2026. A Business Ticket (speakers and business lounge access, catered lunch, fast-lane entry) is available at a premium. Team Special packages are offered for corporate groups. 1E9 community members receive a 20% discount.
The family days (July 4–5) are free of charge with no registration required, though the MUNICH Beyond XR track requires booking individual time slots in advance.
Ticket prices are not disclosed in full on the main event page; the pricing structure is available at the ticket registration link. No third-party ticketing platform was identified for conference tickets at the time of verification.
The primary language is German; 1E9 is a German-language media brand. Some sessions are conducted in English. An English-language version of the festival website exists (1e9.community/festival-der-zukunft/2026/english). Attendees who do not speak German should verify session language before travelling.
The Deutsches Museum is located on the Museumsinsel in central Munich, accessible by U-Bahn (Isartor station on the U5 line and nearby S-Bahn stations) and by tram. A travel planning page was not identified on the festival site at the time of verification.
Yes. A Team Special package is available for corporate groups and includes festival tickets, food and drinks at a group rate, and access to a meeting space for team check-ins or wrap-up sessions. Contact details are available at 1e9.community/team-events-for-companies.
| Official website | https://www.1e9.community/festival-der-zukunft/2026/deutsch |
| English version | https://www.1e9.community/festival-der-zukunft/2026/english |
| Register / Tickets | https://www.1e9.community/events/festival-der-zukunft-2026 |
| Programme | https://festival.1e9.community/programm |
| Speakers | https://www.1e9.community/event/festival-der-zukunft-2026 |
| MUNICH Beyond (XR track) | https://www.1e9.community/festival-der-zukunft/munich-beyond-2025/artists |