Traditional yearender parties on Dec 31 would be moved 10 days earlier as different establishments across the world hold their version of End-of-the-World parties on Friday, Dec 21, 2012. Champagnes are expected to flow, loud party music are expected to blare, and bodies are expected to sway to upbeat music such as Psy's Gangnam Style.

Seeing the revenue potential of the Mayan Calendar New Year, mistaken by some doomsdayers as an end-of-the-world scenario, the tourism, food and entertainment industry had seized the moment by organising Apocalyptic parties in major global cities.

With restaurants, hotels, bars and other commercial establishments ka-ching in on the bacchanalian frenzy, the question now is which one would be considered the mother of all end-of-the world parties? Will it be the one in New York? Paris? Tokyo?

The Last Supper

Or maybe London where events company Halo Group organised an apocalypse-themed meal at a place aptly named Last Supper Club. Although the name alludes to a Biblical event, it does not really refer to the final meal that Jesus had with his apostles but to Old Testament times since the three-course meals would be served inside an ark, ala Noah style.

Last Supper Club is also found in Seattle. For the Friday event at its Shoreditch, east London location, the club would charge ￡35 a head. Even before Dec 21, the club has been observed to be full at its 200-seater capacity.

A Feast for Greek Gods

Flames and Fortune, another events organiser, has been holding apocalypse-themed parties for years and will hold another joint event on Friday in east London and Los Angeles.

"Everyone is talking about the fact that the world is going to end on Friday. All the media are talking about it, it is on the news. So if you are going to put an event you might as well put it on when everybody is talking about the end of the world," The Independent quoted Flames and Fortune event organiser Ally Wolf.

For Friday, Flames and Fortune will open an indulgence room where its staff, garbed as Greek gods, will massage guests, feed them grapes and cater to their wildest desires.

The event is only for 750 ticket holders. The evening would end with a countdown at 2:45 a.m. accompanied not by asteroid collisions and solar flares but glitter cannons and a huge sing-a-long.

Science vs Faith

Since the start of the 13th Mayan Baktun has been reduced to a science versus faith battle, which has become comical because of the extreme response made by some cultic groups, a mixture of apocalypse-themed music, comedy acts and scientists discussing doomsday scenarios would be held at the Hammersmith Apollo in London. The unique show is topbilled by Professor Brian Cox and comedian Ric Ince.

Friar Meeting

This establishment at 1178 Woodruff Road in Greenville, South Carolina, is where Friar's Tavern could be found. It's not a place for a worship and prayer by Christian monks, but is a bar and restaurant. For Friday's Friar Party, which begins at 9 p.m., the establishment will raffle trips to Hawaii and Las Vegas. Since it is also ladies' night, the bar will choose one woman every 15 minutes to spin the Mayan Wheel of Doom to win cash prizes, gift certificates and paid bar tabs. If the wheel stops on a particular special, all guests would enjoy reduced prices for their drinks until the next spin of the wheel.

Galactic Alignment Party

At the Maple Leaf Bar in New Orleans, the Galactic Alignment Party starts at 7:30 p.m. featuring food vendors, music and far out characters. Music will be provided by the New Orleans FUNK Allstars whose members will perform under their Mayan names: S'Moore on drums, Forrest Raines on guitar, BellMan on sax and harmonica, Mercury O'Rob on bass and Vougue L. Ritch on keys.

Party for a Cause

While most party organisers have fun and revelry as their targets for Friday, the Altitude Bar in Hamilton, New Zealand has a noble cause behind its End-of-the- World concert and fundraiser with the Waikato Salvation Army's Christmas foodbank appeal as its beneficiary.

One word of caution for partygoers for this once-in-a-lifetime event - drink in moderation and don't act like there's no tomorrow when imbibing alcoholic beverages since the sun will surely rise on Dec 22, and chances are if you had too much alcohol in your system, you will have an end-of-the-world hangover the following morning.

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