Dîner en Blanc


Dîner en Blanc is a worldwide event spanning six continents in which people have a meal dressed in white in a temporary dining setup in a public space. Diners are required to provide their own food, tables, chairs and tablecloths. Only a select number of participants who have previously signed up are made privy to the location the day of the dinner, and generally converge in an iconic urban location.

History

The Dîner en Blanc concept began in Paris in 1988 when Frenchman 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. 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. In 2012, Aymeric Pasquier and Sandy Safi partnered to create ., 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, and Brisbane the first Australian city. Canberra held Dîners en Blanc in 2013 and 2014, and Melbourne debuted the phenomenon in 2015.