With just three days to go until FutureFest 2015 a ‘wormhole to the future’ has opened up today in London Bridge.

Commissioned by the festival’s producers, Nesta, the 3D artwork depicts a design-led London in 2035. It shows a city that encourages wellbeing through spaces that balance greenery, socialising and sounds. The wormhole was created by artists 3D Joe and Max in collaboration with FutureFest contributors: Paul Dolan (best selling author of Happiness By Design); Dr Morgaine Gaye (food futurologist); and Michèle Dix (MD of Crossrail 2).

FutureFest is a weekend of immersive experiences, compelling performances and radical speakers to excite and challenge perceptions of the future. It will take place at Vinopolis in London Bridge on Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 March 2015 and tickets are available at www.futurefest.org.

Curated by musician and author Pat Kane, FutureFest will focus on six themes to explore the future. These themes are: thrills, music, money, machines, democracy and two rapidly-developing cities in Africa.

The future of democracy as we know it will be challenged and tested with insight from Edward Snowden, the NSA whistleblower; Vivienne Westwood, fashion designer; Baroness Helena Kennedy QC, lawyer; Jaakko Kuosmanen, future human rights researcher; Ian Brown, from the Cyber Security Centre at University of Oxford; and Owen Jones, author and columnist.

FutureFest will feature the world premiere of NEUROSIS - a virtual reality thrill ride developed by Thrill Laboratory and Middlesex University. NEUROSIS uses the rider's own neurological feedback to transport, twist and twirl them through a psychedelic landscape. All-female ensemble BitterSuite and emerging songwriter and producer Tanya Auclair will perform a multi-sensory set where the audience will taste, feel and smell the music.

Adrian Cheok, professor of pervasive computing at City University London, will be showcasing technology that transmits sensory experiences over the internet. FutureFest goers will also experience future thrills from mixologists Mr Lyan Ltd who will prescribe alcohol as part of a fantastical future government initiative. The Sweetshop of the Future, is a tasting experience by chocolatier Paul A Young and food futurologist Dr Morgaine Gaye, will showcase new trends in confectionary at the festival.

FutureFest invites people to experience how Lagos and Johannesburg, two rapidly-growing and exciting hubs for creativity and technology, are transforming into urban superpowers and their citizens into globally-renowned inventors. It will challenge preconceptions about the relationship between Londoners and African urban citizens, and ask whether we have a misplaced sense of certainty about our future

Robots will take centre stage at FutureFest. Urban architects Minimaforms will unveil Emotive City, where visitors can interact with robots and discover how their behaviours change an environment. Author of The Psychopath Test, Jon Ronson, will be discussing social media shaming and whether machines could have a mind of their own. Dr. Michael Osborne, professor of machine learning at the University of Oxford, will be discussing the effects of robots on the working world.

Legendary funk and soul musician George Clinton, leader of futuristic psychedelic rock and funk groups Parliament & Funkadelic, will be taking the audience through a multimedia exploration of his career as an innovative musician, radical live performer and pop Sci-Fi icon.

Continuing the music theme, composer and multi-instrumentalist Stevie Wishart will be joining up music history and all the digital possibilities of the future. Using projections and digital enhancements, she turns antique instruments like the hurdy-gurdy and the violin into strange, reverberating presences - where the human/machine line becomes blurred.

To stay up-to-date with the latest news, visit www.futurefest.org and follow @nesta_uk.

FutureFest is supported by Billetto, Microsoft Research, British Council, Oxford Martin School, Convergence, the Science Museum, Transport for London, Arup, Signal Noise, Breakin’ Convention at Sadler’s Wells, Borough Market and Clever Franke.

For further information on FutureFest or to get a copy of the Wormhole picture, contact:

Natalie Hodgson, Nesta press office - call 020 7438 2614 or email [email protected].

The inaugural FutureFest was held at Shoreditch Town Hall in London over the weekend of 28-29 September 2013. It brought together radical thinkers and performers from the likes of Lily Cole and Bertolt Meyer to Robin Ince and Lord Martin Rees. To view highlights of last year’s event visit: http://2013.futurefest.org/video/