World’s 50 Best Bars will be revealed in Barcelona in October 2022

Leading mixologists are braced for the career-defining awards taking place outside of London for the first time

In a world-first, the World’s 50 Best Bars awards ceremony will be hosted in Barcelona, Spain on Tuesday 4 October 2022. Up until now, since its inception in 2009, the awards ceremony has taken place in London. 

The event is a major networking opportunity on the global F&B industry calendar, celebrating bartenders, bar owners and brands at the forefront of the international cocktail scene.

Placing the UAE on the list, Zuma Dubai (pictured) and Galaxy, both in DIFC, took spots on the World’s 50 Best Bars 2021 at number 17 and number 45 respectively.

In recent years, international World’s 50 Best Bars winners have also been invited to collaborate at local venues, such as Boca, in the UAE as a way to raise the profile of a venue, associate an establishment with award-winners and promote new drinks brands to the market.

Voted on by an academy of more than 650 anonymous industry experts, the 2022 ranking will be unveiled as part of a festival of events, held over one week in the Catalonian capital.

“The gender-balanced panel will vote confidentially with voting requirements once again adjusted to take into account the restrictions to travel over the past year,” say the organisers.

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Mark Sansom, content director for The World’s 50 Best Bars, says: “We are delighted to bring The World’s 50 Best Bars ceremony to Barcelona this year, celebrating the return of international travel and the dazzling performance of the global bars sector over the past year.

“London has been a fantastic home for us but, as we come out of the pandemic, we are excited to have the opportunity to shine a spotlight on other great cocktail cities, starting with Barcelona, which has three outstanding venues on The World’s 50 Best Bars 2021 list.”

Ahead of the ceremony, 50 Best will reveal the winners of two individual awards designed to celebrate the exceptional achievements of one bar and one bartender over the past year, as well as the bars ranked from 51 to 100.

Pre-event Recognition and Awards

• 51-100: One week before the awards ceremony, 50 Best will reveal those bars ranked between 51 and 100 on its website and social media channels
• The Michter’s Art of Hospitality: This award is voted for by all members of The World’s 50 Best Bars Academy, who are asked to name the bar where they received the single best hospitality experience during the voting period
• The Altos Bartenders’ Bartender: This award is voted for by the bartenders behind those bars on this year’s list, who are asked to name one peer who has done more to further the craft of bartending than any other, with reference to their work to support the ongoing recovery of the bar sector in the wake of the pandemic

The countdown of the list of The World’s 50 Best Bars 2022, sponsored by Perrier, will also be broadcast live to a global audience through The World’s 50 Best Bars Facebook page and 50 Best Bars YouTube channel.