Sheffield's 'first' immersive bar with wrap-around video to open

Duality Bar, which is due to open on Devonshire Street, claims to be the city’s first truly immersive watering hole where the technology will be able to whisk punters from the New York skyline to the depths of the ocean at the push of a button.

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The new venture is the brainchild of old schoolfriends Oli Richards and Josh Shires, who believe it could provide just the sort of escapism people need from the worries caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Oli, who has known Josh since they attended Brookfield Community School in Chesterfield as teenagers, said: “It will be Sheffield’s first immersive bar experience, where projection technology turns all four walls into 4D screens and allows you to put yourself anywhere on the planet – or beyond.

“People can be immersed in any environment they want, and we’re getting animated videos made which will change according to the music being played.

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“It will be an intimate cocktail bar with DJs at the weekend where people can celebrate their birthday or any other special occasion anywhere they want, like New York, without having to fly all their friends over for the big night.”

Oli has worked at bars and restaurants around the world and was in Ibiza last summer when Josh – a manufacturing expert whom he describes as the brains behind the technology – visited him and they came up with the idea together.

“We’d always talked about opening a bar together and we thought why not go for it,” said Oli.

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“Obviously that was before coronavirus and we couldn’t have chosen a worse time to be opening a new bar but if the restrictions are still in place when we open one idea is to have bubble parties, where people hire out the whole venue for a few hours.”

Duality Bar is scheduled to open in mid-September at the former Wrapchic restaurant site and its founders have applied for a licence to open until 2am on Friday and Saturday nights and midnight the rest of the week.

For more information, visit dualitybars.com.