Dîner en Blanc

Dîner en Blanc

Dîner en Blanc Paris, Place des Vosges (2012)
Founded	1988
Founder	François Pasquier
Headquarters	Paris, France
Number of locations	90+ cities
Website	www.dinerenblanc.com

Dîner en Blanc ("Dinner in White" in French) is a worldwide event spanning six continents in which people dressed in white have a meal in a temporary dining setup in a public space.^[1][2] Diners are required to provide their own food, tables, chairs and tablecloths.^[3] The location of the event is kept secret from the majority of participants until minutes before the event, at which point all attendees generally converge in an iconic urban location.

History

The Dîner en Blanc concept began in Paris in 1988 when François Pasquier invited a group of friends to an elegant outdoor dinner at the Bois de Boulogne, asking them to dress in white so they could find each other.^[4] The event's presence has grown to over 85 cities, with almost 17,000 gathering for the 30th-anniversary event in Paris.

Pasquier's son, Aymeric, introduced the concept to Montreal, Canada in 2009. In 2011, with the help of Sandy Safi, Aymeric Pasquier hosted the first American Dîner en Blanc in New York City. The event has grown to have an attendance of more than 6,500 with a waiting list of over 80,000 people.^[5] In 2012, Aymeric Pasquier and Sandy Safi partnered to create Dîner en Blanc International Inc., a Canadian company in charge of developing the Diner en Blanc network and license worldwide.

In 2012, Singapore was the first Asian city to host a Dîner en Blanc,^[6] and Brisbane the first Australian city.^[7][8][9] Canberra held Dîners en Blanc in 2013 and 2014,^[10][11] and Melbourne debuted the phenomenon in 2015.^[12]

In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand were the only three countries to host the event.^[13]

References

1. "Diner en Blanc - International - About". Diner en Blanc. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
2. "Diner en Blanc comes to Melbourne". Broadsheet. Archived from the original on September 7, 2015. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
3. Sidman, Jessica (June 29, 2017). "Dîner en Blanc is Coming Back—With 500 More Seats". Washingtonian. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
4. Schillinger, Leisl (July 5, 2011). "How 10,000 People Keep a Secret". The New York Times.
5. Pawle, Fred (October 29, 2014). "Diner en Blanc trips the white fantastic". The Australian. News Corp.
6. Ang, Daniel (August 21, 2012), Dîner en Blanc is Coming to Singapore! What To Expect & What White Food To Bring
7. Blatchford, Emily (September 30, 2015). "Secret Pop Up Picnic Returns To Australia -- First Stop, Brisbane". The Huffington Post Australia. Archived from the original on October 11, 2015.
8. Zekants, Resa (September 3, 2015). "Le Diner en Blanc to enchant Brisbane". Bmag. Archived from the original on October 20, 2015. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
9. Martyn, Nathan (September 3, 2013), Dîner en Blanc Attracts A Sea Of White
10. Belot, Henry (February 12, 2015). "Diner en Blanc unlikely to return to Canberra as government withdraws support". The Canberra Times. Fairfax media. Archived from the original on October 20, 2015.
11. "In the white mood for festival fun". City News. March 3, 2013. Archived from the original on May 9, 2013.
12. Wright, Jessica (March 10, 2015). "Melbourne's first Diner en Blanc: all white on the night". Archived from the original on August 4, 2015.
13. Liu, Lyla (September 9, 2020), Taiwan one of only three countries to host 2020 Dîner en Blanc