Sydney will welcome the world’s best bartenders next year when Diageo World Class hosts the 2020 Bartender of the Year Global Final in Australia. Regarded as the world’s biggest and most influential bartending competition, Diageo World Class will transform Sydney into a vibrant hub of events, experiences and festivities as an elite group of finalists battle it out to be crowned the world’s best. The news was revealed last night, as Australian’s Alex Boon competed in this year’s World Class Final held in Glasgow.
Since its launch in 2009, World Class has been instrumental in transforming fine drinking and cocktail culture around the world. Now run in more than 60 countries, World Class has supported, educated and inspired more than 300,000 bartenders through its training and advocacy programme. The vision is to not only nurture trailblazing bartending talent and foster a global sense of community, but to inspire people to care about what, where and how they drink.
World Class 2020 - announced last night at the 11th annual Diageo World Class Bartender of the Year final in Glasgow - is a huge coup for Sydney during an important time of the city’s revitalisation. Notably, Australia produces some of the best talent in the world, including two global winners - Tim Philips-Johansson (2012) and Orlando Marzo (2018) - in the past decade. This year’s Australian finalist Alex Boon impressed the global judges with his unique flair, passion and creativity during the event.
"Our bars and bartenders have long been celebrated for being the best in the business, qualified by the fact we are one of only two countries to produce two global champions in the competition’s history. Sydney World Class 2020 is an amazing opportunity for us to promote our craft of bartending and show off our amazing city and bars to the rest of the world. I for one am looking forward to hosting the world’s best in my home city” Tim Philips-Johansson, World Class Global Champion 2012 and co-owner of Bulletin Place, Sydney declared.
Close to my own heart, I had the personal privilege of guest judging the Australian semi-finals barefoot in the Noosa sand, and the finals in Sydney not barefoot but all dressed up at Black The Star, the year following Tim's global win, in 2013. This Diageo competition gives enormously in fostering our spirits knowledge and bar talent. This is very happy news that Sydney is set to come alive with a week-long festival of creative collaborations, inspiring events and unique tastings, while an impressive line-up of bartenders compete in a series of challenges using spirits from the Diageo Reserve portfolio. Further details will be announced in 2020.
Pictured: 2018 Global Winner - Australia's Orlando Marzo
