- Unique Future of Food dining concept will lead guests on multi-sensory journey
- Experience to include glow-in-the-dark creations and flavour-changing desserts
Jeddah: – A pioneering culinary experience inspired by space, microbiology, artificial intelligence and hyperintelligence will stir the senses of curious diners at Expo 2020 Dubai, in a new concept designed to challenge the future of dining.
The Future of Food: Epochal Banquet is a never-before-seen experience cooked up by UK-based multi-sensory experience design studio Bompas & Parr, in collaboration with Expo 2020. The ground-breaking foodie adventure will feature numerous world firsts, taking creativity, innovation and technology to a new level.
Diners will have the opportunity to taste super-light delicacies formed using the same technique that NASA uses to collect comet dust; edible creations that glow in the dark; flavour-changing desserts; ultra-rare ingredients, including new-to-the-plate plants; and much more.
The immersive experience is inspired by the ‘Novacene’, a new era hypothesised by eminent 102-year-old scientist and inventor James Lovelock. The new age, he prophesises, will take over the ‘Anthropocene’ era, in which humans have been able to make large-scale changes to the planetary environment, and introduce a future where robots and artificial intelligence will rule.
The curated experience features a multi-course exploratory menu, designed to entertain and inspire, while exploring important themes involving the future of food, including how humans and artificial intelligence can combine to sustainably feed a growing global population and tackle food waste, as well as the implications for future nutrition.
Marjan Faraidooni, Chief Experience Officer, Expo 2020 Dubai, said: “Our World Expo is a global experience that will offer an endless journey of discovery – including through food and beverages. TheFuture of Food immersive experience is extremely exciting, offering foodies and the curious a world-first taste of the culinary experiences of tomorrow, while also delving into pressing global challenges based around food security and how innovation and food will combine in the future.”
Known for its genre-defining projects, Bompas & Parr rose to prominence with its jelly creations that take architectural forms, such as Grimshaw’s The Eden Project and Lord Foster’s wobbly Millennium Bridge. The experiential firm is behind the world’s first multi-sensory fireworks display, commissioned for New Year’s Eve 2013 in London, and the world’s first cultural institution solely dedicated to food and drink, the British Museum of Food, which opened in 2015.
Sam Bompas, Director, Bompas & Parr, said: “We are thrilled to be bringing The Future of Food: Epochal Banquet to a global audience at Expo 2020 Dubai, where we hope to inspire diners to think positively about the reality of technology-infused dishes. Each course will take guests deeper into the future through first-of-its-kind dishes, as well as immersive experiences that stir each of the senses.”
Available throughout the six months of Expo 2020, tickets for the two-hour culinary odyssey are expected to sell fast. They will be available at www.expo2020dubai.com from early September, starting at AED550.
A food destination in its own right, with 200-plus food and beverage outlets offering a world of cuisines and innovative concepts, Expo 2020 will ensure there is something new for everyone to taste. Coupled with up to 60 live events – including film nights, poetry readings, art activations, musical concerts, cultural tours, parades and interactive journeys for all ages – the site will be alive with sounds, rhythms and flavours from across the globe.
Expo 2020 runs from 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022, inviting visitors from around the world to join the making of a new world and experience a six-month celebration of human creativity, innovation, progress and culture.
Note: The experience is not suitable for guests under 14 years of age and features strobe lighting that may affect those with sensory sensitivities. As part of the shared experience, diners are seated at a communal table, which conforms to COVID-19 measures.
About Expo 2020 Dubai
From 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022, Expo 2020 Dubai will welcome visitors from every corner of the globe to join the making of a new world, as it brings together the planet in one place to reimagine tomorrow.
- With the purpose of ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’, Expo 2020 will be the world’s most impactful global incubator for new ideas, catalysing an exchange of new perspectives and inspiring action to deliver real-life solutions to real-world challenges
- Expo 2020 will be the biggest cultural gathering in the world, presenting a visually striking and emotionally inspiring 182 days, as more than 200 participants – including nations, multilateral organisations, businesses, and educational institutions, as well as millions of visitors – create the largest and most diverse World Expo ever
- Expo 2020’s subthemes of Opportunity, Mobility and Sustainability will inspire visitors to preserve and protect our planet, explore new frontiers and build a better future for everyone
- For six months, Expo 2020 will be a must-visit family destination, with thousands of events, amazing exploratory experiences, and free entry for children up to age 18
- Expo is committed to building a more equitable and just world for everyone, while keeping visitors safe by following the latest guidance of the world’s leading medical, science and health experts
- Expo 2020 is the first World Expo to take place in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region, located on a 4.38 sqkm site adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai South
- Built with a meaningful and measurable long-term legacy in mind, the Expo site will transform into District 2020 – a model global community that will rethink the cities of the future – after Expo 2020 closes its doors
How to cover Expo 2020 Dubai in person at event time or report on the event remotely
To attend Expo 2020 or cover Expo 2020 remotely using content and assets generated by Expo, you must be accredited.
To kick off your journey with Expo 2020, please ensure that you:
- Register to access our Media Information System, Tawassul at https://media.expo2020dubai.com
Tawassul is regularly updated, providing the latest content assets, including press releases, photographs, audio and video, the electronic media kit, and information on broadcast and photography operations. It also provides you with important information and updates on facilities and services such as media accreditation, visa information for international accredited media, and permits. Access to other media-related systems (Media Asset Management System and Media Bookings System), which will be launched in Q2 2021, will only be permitted to accredited media (see below). Information about these systems can be found on Tawassul.
- Once registered, submit an Expo 2020 Media Accreditation expression of interest.
Within this expression of interest, please appoint an Accreditation Liaison Officer (ALO) from within your organisation who will act as the single point of contact with Expo 2020 for media accreditation. Following this, approved media organisations will be provided login details and instructions for the accreditation system to enable them to submit applications.
For support, contact Expo 2020 Dubai’s Media Services team at media.services@expo2020.ae or +971 (0)56 689 2101.
Visit: www.expo2020dubai.com
Follow: Twitter: @expo2020dubai | Facebook: @Expo2020Dubai | Instagram: expo2020dubai
About World Expos
In 1851 the Crystal Palace was the centrepiece of London’s Great Exhibition – the first World Expo. It celebrated the man-made industrial wonders of a rapidly changing world. Architecture, contents and a theme, ‘Industry of All Nations’, were combined to create a big idea of nations meeting nations in shared technological and commercial progress. In more recent years, participants in World Expos, including governments, international organisations and companies, have gathered to find solutions to universal challenges and to promote their achievements, products, ideas, innovations, their national brand, and their nations as destinations for tourism, trade and investment.
World Expos are held under the auspices of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), the intergovernmental organisation responsible for overseeing and regulating international exhibitions (‘Expos’) and for fostering their core values of Education, Innovation and Cooperation. Today, four types of Expos are organised under the BIE’s auspices: World Expos, Specialised Expos, Horticultural Expos and the Triennale di Milano.
For Expo 2020 media enquiries, please contact:
On call contact
Email: ksaexpo2020dubai@ogilvy.com
Tel: +966 56 006 1480
Saudi Arabia
For Future of Food enquiries, please contact:
FWD Comms
On call contact
Email: fiona@fwd-comms.com
Tel: +447862431751
