80 Plates for Bravo
A global culinary journey, reimagined as a single immersive night.
To launch Around the World in 80 Plates and preview its highly anticipated finale, Bravo set out to break from the traditional event format, creating an experience that would transport guests across continents through food, culture, and performance.
At the center of the concept were three large circular turntable stages, each designed with three distinct international vignettes. Across nine countries, guests moved through environments layered with authentic props, furniture, and custom scenic details, from a French countryside with live grass and charcuterie to the beaches of Thailand with powdery white sand. As the stages rotated on cue, so did the experience, revealing new destinations alongside live entertainment including flamenco guitarists, Brazilian samba percussionists, Indian sitar players, a Chinese lion dance, and a Bollywood-inspired Bhangra performance. Each transition was paired with culturally specific cuisine and cocktails, guiding guests from French cheeses to Moroccan specialties and beyond.
Interactive moments added another layer of engagement, with games like Guess and Flip and Taste the Exceptional Ingredient inviting guests to test their global knowledge. Every element worked together to create a fully sensory experience where guests could taste, touch, hear, and see the world unfold around them.
Our team led the concept, design, and full-scale production, delivering a dynamic, multi-sensory environment that captured the spirit of the series and brought Bravo’s vision to life.
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Guests received their first taste of technological innovation at registration, where they were welcomed by name on a reactive LED screen installation covering the full width of the entry wall. A large lunch café was created with a décor scheme that incorporated custom-built, ceiling-high steel LED frames draped with foliage to create smaller, intimate restaurant-style spaces that displayed both technology and nature.
A series of breakout sessions presented content targeted to attendees’ varied interests, while imagery displayed throughout the venue showcased real-life applications of how products designed to empower developers help to unleash the power of data and reimagine possibilities that will improve our world.
Every element of Microsoft Connect(); from registration, breakfast and keynote, to lunch and evening cocktails, were custom-designed to communicate exacting brand messaging and to deliver a high-touch guest experience to this important audience. The keynote and breakout sessions were livestreamed through an onsite studio built for this purpose and content was watched online by millions around the world.
Empire is proud to collaborate with Microsoft on this annual, top-tier business communication event.
To view excerpts of Connect(); 2017, please visit https://www.microsoft.com/connectevent
