Deliveroo Wants You to Dine on a Girder Suspended Over London (Seriously)

Deliveroo is back on its bullshit. After the actually serious matters of a parliamentary inquiry into employment rights, and lobbying the government on behalf of the restaurants that it needs to jettison to be profitable, the publicity stunt is back.

This time, the restaurant delivery juggernaut is riffing on one of the most iconic photos in history. Lunch Atop A Skyscraper (1932) was taken during the building of the Rockefeller Centre at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York. It famously depicts eleven men eating lunch on an iron girder, 840 feet (260 metres) above the ground. The original is too believed to be a publicity stunt, as well as several orders of magnitude more dangerous.

Deliveroo promises the “ultimate dining experience”, on 21 and 22 August. The weather forecast currently promises sunny intervals and a gentle breeze to sway the girder — it shouldn’t be the latest ill-conceived food-adjacent event to be cancelled. It promises too, a secret London location; a secret London location listed on the ballot page. With an address. So, the secret event will take place in SE1, not far from The Shard, at the top of a 32-storey building, 450 feet in the air. Sittings are limited to 30 minutes apiece, with diners able to order food from restaurants in the local area, just as they would at home.

The ballot closes Friday 17 August at 5pm. A Deliveroo spokesperson said: “Deliveroo has been committed to delivering the most amazing food experiences all summer, whatever the weather, be it to the beach, a park, at home or 450ft in the air. When thinking about infamous lunches, the photograph from Rockefeller Center is hard to beat, but we thought we might as well give it a go!”

Eater asks why, and looks forward to what’s next.