Lantern Festival branded 'the next Fyre Festival' amid 'scam' claims as revellers demand ticket refunds
10 April 2024, 16:10 | Updated: 11 April 2024, 08:09
A lantern festival has been branded 'Britain's Fyre Festival' amid claims the event is a 'social media scam', with revellers left demanding refunds for their tickets.
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Lantern Festival UK has been selling tickets for gatherings set to take place in Birmingham and London throughout May, June and July, where revellers will be able to release fire lanterns.
The event - which has been advertised mostly on TikTok - promises "magical moments that leave you breathless and filled with wonder", with tickets being sold for up to £50.
But there have since been claims that it is a "scam", with the event being compared to Fyre Festival and the Willy Wonka Experience in Scotland.
Videos shared online to promote the event have garnered millions of views since it was first launched in March.
However, some of the footage used on TikTok was allegedly taken from lantern events outside of the UK, including the Yi Peng Lantern Festival in Thailand and Lights Fest in the US.
Lantern Festival UK has claimed tickets are "100% refundable within 14 days of purchase" but their refund policy also states that "all ticket sales are deemed as final transactions".
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Organisers have said there are four events planned so far - two in Birmingham on June 1 and July 13 and two in London on May 26 and June 8 - but no specific locations have been given.
The Lantern Festival UK says initial dates in both cities have sold out but individual tickets are still up for sale for the dates.
The event has received backlash online, with one person posting on X: "The lantern festival that I keep seeing on TikTok is giving FYRE FESTIVAL lol. Huge scam! You think the UK government would actually allow 2000 lanterns in the sky when ULEZ is a thing??? If you bought a ticket you better start making a claim with your bank now lmfao."
Another person said: "I cannot wait for end of May to see all the uproar and memes that’ll come out of the next biggest shambles the UK has seen after the Willy Wonka Experience (The Lantern Festival)."
A third person said: "I’m sorry to all the people on TikTok scammed by that lantern festival thing but internet safety skills are declining so rapidly and people keep falling for the most obvious things. Also I’m not that sorry why would you want to get involved in an ecological disaster like that?"
Several councils across England have banned the release of fire lanterns due to environmental and health and safety concerns.
Birmingham City Council said its trading standards team is looking into the adverts.
A spokesperson told MailOnline: "We are aware of a number of online adverts promoting a lantern festival, reportedly including two dates in Birmingham, that have prompted concern this could be a scam – and our Trading Standards team are looking into this.
"Birmingham City Council does not permit the intentional release into the sky of lanterns from any land or property which it owns and/or controls - this includes our streets, public spaces, cemeteries and local authority schools.
"They may travel and land anywhere, potentially causing harm to wildlife and the environment, and in the case of sky lanterns, have been the cause of several major fires.
"Full details of the council's policy on the release of sky lanterns and balloons can be found on the council's website.
"Anyone who suspects an offer may not be what it purports to be can send details and evidence to our Trading Standards team by emailing tradingstandards@birmingham.gov.uk or by calling Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 0808 223 1133."
A spokesperson said: "Lantern Festival UK would like to address the recent media reports and allegations regarding our upcoming lantern festivals in Birmingham and London.
"We share the public and media’s heightened awareness of events promotion, following the disastrous Wonka experience in Glasgow that was widely reported recently. Our events and theirs could not be more different.
"We have carefully planned these events, and made numerous location selections in Birmingham and London, optioning sites of different capacities, based on their attributes that will enable us to create a safe and environmentally friendly event for all.
"As ticket sales have overperformed our expectations, we’ve released the site options on lower-capacity venues and entered into final agreements with the larger venues we’ve identified as part of our planning process.
"Our selection of lanterns is based on ensuring aesthetics that align with our advertisements and an effort to limit the environmental impact as well."
