This coming October the Dutch DJ Oliver Heldens in partnership with the Mission Live Foundation will conduct an unprecedented underwater dance event to raise awareness about the problem of plastic soup in the oceans. The performance will take place in a special underwater studio, 40 meters beneath the surface. What’s more, Heldens plans on freediving down to the studio!

In order to complete the dive successfully, the Dutch DJ will go through a professional training program, under the supervision of Nanja van den Broek, a freediving world record holder in the Variable Weight discipline (130 meters/426 feet). Nanja van den Broek have already praised Heldens for his commitment by saying: “It’s amazing to see how Oliver experiences the training and the way he commits himself wholly to this cause. He is doing very well, and I am, like everyone, very curious what depth he will reach in October.”

The exact location, where Heldens will do the freedive is yet unknown, but it is said that the it will be the area of the ocean where the problem of plastic soup is clearly visible. Since the performance will be streamed in the Amsterdam Arena during the Amsterdam Dance Event, Heldens will encourage festival goers to donate in order to financially back the Plastic Soup Foundation and the World Nature Funds. The global audience will be able to see both the free dive and the show online.

The ‘Dance from the Deep’ will be further supported with the help of a multimedia campaign, organized by Mission Live Foundation. The aim of this foundation is to make people aware and to practically involve them in the issue of plastic soup - masses of floating and sinking plastic waste, globally threatening life in and around the oceans. It is estimated that if the amount of plastic entering the seas is not reduced, the oceans will contain more plastic than fish by 2050.