BBC Earth Experience

Overview

Watching a Sir David Attenborough documentary means being left with two strong feelings: wanting to see the world exactly the way that the iconic broadcaster does, and wishing to always hear his narration as you walk across the planet. Consider the BBC Earth Experience the closest thing to making both happen. It takes footage from Attenborough's Seven Worlds, One Planet series, turns it into a 360-degree walk-through audiovisual event, and has the natural historian and living treasure echo while you wander.

The BBC Earth Experience debuted in London in March 2023, which has been excellent news if a UK holiday was on your agenda. Here's a better development: the showcase's Down Under arrival. Melbourne is only the second city in the world to host this spectacular sight, running from Friday, October 27 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre in an Australian-exclusive season.

The experience uses cutting-edge digital-projection technology to surround attendees in visuals from the earth's seven continents, with everything from fireflies in North America to cassowary fathers and their chicks in Australia on display. In London, the attraction sprawls across more than 1600 square metres, featuring spaces dedicated to the planet seen at microscopic scale, via drone footage and on the ocean floor, too, as part of a self-guided tour that also heroes starfish, elephant seals, snub-nosed monkeys, hamsters and more.

If you've already watched Seven Worlds, One Planet, you won't just be greeted by material you've already seen, but larger. The scale of the event's imagery is hefty — epic, even — but BBC Earth Experience also includes extended scenes from the show, plus bespoke narration by Attenborough.

The mission is truly to make the audience feel like they've stepped right into the footage, all thanks to multi-angle screens. And, it's designed to cater to existing Seven Worlds, One Planet fans and newcomers alike.

In Melbourne, offering up an educational experience for young patrons is also a big aim. There's a classroom space onsite, plus resources curated for teachers.

Updated November 13, 2023.