World’s 50 Best Heads to Abu Dhabi
The 2026 World’s 50 Best Restaurants gala will be held in Abu Dhabi in November, marking another high‑profile nod to the UAE’s culinary clout and a likely travel draw for fine‑dining tourists (mundodeportivo.com). Expect increased luxury hospitality and gastronomy programming in the region as a result. (mundodeportivo.com).
The official World’s 50 Best announcement lists S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna as presenting partners and names the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi as the host partner for the 2026 programme. (theworlds50best.com)) Organisers say this will be the first time the global World’s 50 Best awards ceremony is staged in the Middle East, marking a regional milestone for the franchise. (connectingtravel.com)) Abu Dhabi previously hosted the Middle East & North Africa’s 50 Best events most recently in February 2026, giving local authorities recent experience with the 50 Best format. (horecatrend.ae)) The week‑long host programme will include industry panels and events and organisers plan to unveil the extended 51–100 list in the run‑up to the main ceremony. (theworlds50best.com)) Voting portals for regional 50 Best ballots show entries closed across multiple regions — including MENA, Asia and North America — signalling that the global ranking process is in its late stage. (menavoting.worlds50best.com)) Organisers have not published a fixed ceremony date yet and media notices say further details and the full event schedule will be released at a later time. (theupcoming.co.uk)) The World’s 50 Best programme is run by William Reed Ltd; last year’s list was revealed during a June awards show in Turin with Maido in Lima named the top restaurant. (theworlds50best.com))
