The inaugural FUTR World Middle East, a one-of-a-kind festival of business, entertainment and innovation which will take place at Abu Dhabi’s Manarat Al Saadiyat from December 9 -11, has released further details of the exciting entertainment programme for FUTR Live – one of the festival’s three dedicated zones.
A partnership between Retail Abu Dhabi, the retail platform of the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi),MP Singapore and the FUTR Group, FUTR World Middle East will also include FUTR Festival – which will host a stunning line-up of progressive musical acts from multiple genres, including international Afrobeats sensation Wizkid and rising star Alicai Harley – and FUTR Summit, a dedicated stage for innovative knowledge exchange. FUTR Summit will feature leaders from major brands, retailers, corporates and e-commerce giants, including Gymshark, Electronic Arts, Farfetch, and Tech Crunch, amongst others.
As part of FUTR Live, FUTR Tastebud will provide an immersive pop-up exploring the future of food hosted by creative food company Moby, which will present innovative concepts and samples. The zone will also welcome the region’s first ‘Museum of Ice Cream’ pop-up. Arriving in Abu Dhabi from New York, the Instagrammable experience will see legacy brand Baskin Robbins launch a new ‘FUTR’ flavour for visitors.
FUTR Tastebud will also connect innovative food brands and sector pioneers during a series of interactive demonstrations, recipe ideas, talks, Q&A sessions and more. The schedule includes the founders of London-based food media pioneers MOB Kitchen sharing business lessons and inspiration with audiences while they cook. Outside, the terrace area will also feature a selection of carefully curated food truck experiences, while the region’s most talented homegrown chefs are set to create an exclusive ‘FUTR dish’ never served before.
In addition to the food-centric FUTR Tastebud, FUTR Live will feature a further seven, sector-specific immersive experiences featuring numerous international artists showcasing their latest work, including Ong Kian Peng, Planeswalker, Jo Ho, and Tiffany Low.
Next-generation, 360-degree technology, mirrored augmentations, data visualizations, soundscapes and NFTs will bring to life the immersive zones, which will focus on beauty (FUTR Aura), sports and fitness (FUTR ME), retail (FUTR Shop), balance and wellness (FUTR Void), travel and automotive (FUTR Space), fashion (FUTR Lookbook), and entertainment and media (FUTR Studio). A series of FUTR Showcases and FUTR Competitions are also on the event bill.
FUTR Void, the dedicated balance and wellness sector of FUTR Live, will be where visitors will be able to experience on-site beauty treatments by award-winning British home beauty service Ruuby. This will be a FUTR Live exclusive as they are not operating in the region currently.
FUTR Live will also house numerous ‘fireside chats’, including Rebecca Roth, a Media Specialist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Centre, discussing ‘Bringing Space to Life’. Roth’s talk will be complemented by a media and soundscape experience, where visitors will deep-dive into images, videos and animations from dozens of NASA launches, missions, space stations and explorations of Mars.
FUTR Live will also tap into the future of e-sports via a custom exhibition headlined by a VR gaming experience hosted by Benefit Cosmetics. Visitors will be able to play against professionals such as Street Fighter champion Big Bird, and Mario Kart whizz-turned-TikTok-star Nintendo Girl on giant screens. Supporting the gaming-themed experience will be the sQuad Core dedicated gaming lounge. More partner activations will be announced in the coming days.
The event will also boast live sets and masterclasses by some of the biggest names in the music industry, including DJ Tala Samman, Sonya, and Teejjae Mai, who will demonstrate DJ spinning basics after her set. The show will close at sunset with a Vice Media event due to be revealed in the coming days.
HE Ali Hassan Al Shaiba, Executive Director of Tourism and Marketing at DCT Abu Dhabi, said, “Collaborating with FUTR for the inaugural FUTR World Middle East showcases Retail Abu Dhabi’s growing role as an enabler in the emirate’s ever-evolving retail landscape. This initiative will deliver experiential concepts that aim to connect like-minded consumers, business leaders and talent. Our goal this year is to deliver a top-class event that complements Abu Dhabi’s wider major events portfolio, while laying strategic foundations for future events.”
The master FUTR World Middle East line-up includes the FUTR Summit (December 9), FUTR Festival (December 10), and FUTR Live (December 10-11). All ticket holders require a valid PCR test dated no more than 96 hours from entry and an active Al Hosn green pass.
Tickets start at only Dhs129 and are on sale now at Virgin Megastore. To view the full FUTR World Middle East line-up, visit https://futrworld.com/.
