(20 Sep 2025)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
New York – 19 September 2025
++NIGHT SHOTS++
1. Various Hudson River waterfront
2. Various people waving white napkins
3. Daniel Bouloud waving white napkin
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Daniel Bouloud, Chef:
"Feel very good. I am dressing white every day in my in my kitchen so to be here Having everyone dressing white. It’s fantastic I mean I we made hundreds of meals tonight for the event and that’s my first participation this year So I’m very excited about that."
5. Wide tables set along the waterfront
6. Various, attendees seated at tables
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Guru Sundar, New Jersey, first time attendee:
"Absolutely. This is like New York at its finest. You know, ‘Empire State of Mind.’ Right? Like, I mean, this is fantastic."
8. Various, attendees dining
9. SOUNDBITE (English) David Husty, New York, three-time attendee:
"I think there’s nothing like it anywhere in the world. You get people from everywhere, all walks of life, all coming together to have a great time."
10. Wide of guests seated
11. Women toasting at table
12. People dancing
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Ashley Nelson, Brooklyn, first-time attendee:
"I don’t think you can beat it. We’re in the greatest city in the world, eating amazing food, drinking great wine, and with great people."
14. Tracking shot of table and diners
15. Art centerpiece
16. Various attendees seated at table; woman raises glass
17. Various, people dancing pull out to wide of waterfront
18. Various of attendees at long tables on the waterfront
STORYLINE:
Touted as the world’s largest dinner party, the annual Le Dîner en Blanc, transformed Lower Manhattan’s waterfront near Battery Park into a sea of white.
An estimated 2500 diners arrived for the soirée, some bringing along their own picnic fare, fine china, silverware, and tablecloths, and others enjoying the cuisine of chef Daniel Bouloud who catered the event for the first time.
Bouloud said he felt very good and joked "I am dressing white every day in my in my kitchen so to be here having everyone dressing white. It’s fantastic I mean I we made hundreds of meals tonight for the event and that’s my first participation this year so I’m very excited about that."
The theme this year was “Blooming Elegance.”
The dinner has been hosted in 120 cities around the world since its inception in the 80s. Anyone can register for the event. People who sign up do not find out where they are going until they are guided by a volunteer on the day of the event.
According to tradition, guests wave their white cloth napkins in the air, in unison, to signal that Le Dîner is about to commence. There was socializing, dancing, and live entertainment. The French-inspired urban picnic often sells out in days.
Ashley Nelson, a California native now living in Brooklyn, was attending for the first-time. "I don’t think you can beat it. We’re in the greatest city in the world, eating amazing food, drinking great wine, and with great people," she said.
Guru Sundar, from New Jersey, was also attending for the first time.
"This is like New York at its finest. You know, ‘Empire State of Mind.’ Right? Like, I mean, this is fantastic."
New Yorker David Husty was attending for the third time. "I think there’s nothing like it anywhere in the world. You get people from everywhere, all walks of life, all coming together to have a great time," he said.
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