On this page we explore the idea of creating a large-scale, accessible, and playful communal event inspired by Douglas Adams’s famous creation, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, designed as both a participatory dinner and a novel, decentralised, global spectacle. The event is shaped to be both hyper-flexible and inherently 'hitchhikery', facilitating contributions from individuals at home, local cafes, restaurants, and larger public venues worldwide.
> The Restaurant at the End of the Universe: A Global, Playful, Participatory Feast
https://david.vision.hitchhiker.academy/assets/restaurant-at-the-end/Restaurant%20at%20the%20End.m4a
Restaurant at the End of the Universe. Transcript 
> Host or join a global, decentralised dinner party inspired by The Restaurant at the End of the Universe: cook creative dishes, tune into a unique live radio experience, and join a worldwide conversation blending food, tech, art, and cosmic satire! #HitchhikersGuide #GlobalFoodEvent
# Decentralised, Fun, and Accessible The core goal of this event is to create a genuinely decentralised and global celebration. Anyone can take part—from solo foodies to families, groups of friends, schools, and full-scale restaurants.
# How to Take Part 1. **Obtain Your 'Ticket'**: Commit to cooking a themed meal at home or in a community/restaurant setting, following certain playful rules. This isn’t a traditional ticket—it’s a promise to participate. 2. **Tune Into the Radio**: At the agreed date and time (proposed: November 5th, 2026—symbolically 'the end of the universe day'), participants tune into an internet-streamed, live event radio channel. This isn’t just a podcast; it blends live elements, pre-recorded sound collages, music, soundscapes, and contributions submitted before the event. 3. **Invite Guests (optional)**: Bring the social element by inviting friends, family, or neighbours. While solo dining is possible, the format is designed for shared experience. 4. **Location Pins**: Participants’ locations appear anonymously on a global map, revealing the geographical reach.
# Elements - Hitchhiker Menu - Radio Experience
# Scaling Up and Flexibility - **Community Expansion**: The format lets home events seed public events: someone hosting at home might engage a local restaurant, which then registers as a public venue, attracting more participants. - **Diverse Formats**: Events can be minimal and private, or elaborate and theatrical—with themed costumes, immersive projections, games, or even interactive performances. - **Venues**: Schools, art centres, and public cafes can adopt the format as a standalone or festival event.
# Gamification and Constitutional Play There is an intent to expand the experience into a form of board or role-playing game. The event could feature quiz segments, interactive games synchronised with the audio stream, and mechanisms for real-time voting or participatory decision-making—potentially integrated into a broader “constitutional game” where players have a voice, symbolic currency, and agency.
# Artistic Climax and Afterlives - **Musical and Visual Spectacles**: As the event draws to a close, specially created multi-layered musical or audio-visual pieces will attempt to dramatise ‘the end of the universe’, drawing from punk and symphonic influences and inviting submissions (including AI-generated and human remixed works). - **Publication and Legacy**: Contributions and learnings can feed into a collaborative ‘Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Apocalypse’ volume, published after the event, with opportunities for student and community authorship, and potential for serialized audio book releases.
# Technical and Logistical Framework - **Platforms and Tools**: The digital infrastructure (for streaming, content collection, and map pins) already exists, based on past events such as the 72-hour Earth Day and Feast FM (Festival of the Arts and Sustainable Technology). - **Licensing and Costs**: Reasonable streaming and licensing costs (£30–£50 per zone) make it feasible worldwide. Collaboration with record labels, music platforms, and podcasts can expand reach and simplify content syndication.
# Participation Levels - **Basic**: Cook a themed meal, tune in, and listen. - **Intermediate**: Host a small gathering, record and send snippets, or share menu ideas. - **Advanced**: Organise a public event, collaborate with local businesses, or contribute music/art/game elements. - **Elaborate**: Run interactive games, host live concerts or theatrical performances, or lead regional radio streams.
# Why This Event Works Having trialled similar participatory formats (such as Feast FM), the approach has proven simple to scale and deeply engaging, yielding a sense of global connectedness and creative ownership for participants, with a strong sense of humour and cosmic absurdity true to the original inspiration.
Overall, "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe" event aspires to blend the best of food, science fiction, global radio theatre, and environmental reflection—making Earth’s end not a tragedy, but a cheerful, communal feast and playful thought experiment.
# Assets
restaurant-at-the-end