A young woman says she fears she won't get a refund following accusations on social media that a major lantern festival selling £50 tickets is a “scam”.
Videos of fire lanterns soaring into the night sky with fireworks blossoming behind them have been seen on social media platforms like TikTok for weeks, advertising The Lantern Festival UK. Organisers of the event have promised "magical moments that leave you breathless and filled with wonder" and some of the clips have been viewed more than a million times, with Brits begging the festival to come to their home towns in the comments.
But some have told how they fear they'll be left out of pocket if the event does turns out to be a con. Keira Guise had spotted an advert for the festival on social media and was excited at the chance to attend the "bucket list" event - but now says she is worried after seeing reaction to the event. She told the BBC: "It was when I was scrolling through TikTok the day later and I had a video come up and it was stating all these things that were a scam. At first I was a little bit sceptical - because I looked on the website a day later - and everything had just changed."
Others claimed UK councils would not allow thousands of lanterns to be released into the sky considering the fire risk and danger to wildlife they pose. Now, a trading standards investigation has been launched by one city council in an area where the event is billed to take place. Today a festival spokesperson told MirrorOnline they rejected claims it was a scam.
Keira Guise had spotted an advert for the festival on social media and was excited at the chance to attend (BBC)Birmingham City Council said the release of lanterns on council-owned land is prohibited. A spokesperson for the festival has responded today, saying the event has been "carefully planned" and would take place on private land, the BBC reported. The Chartered Trading Standards Institute has confirmed it has begun an investigation. "It has all the hallmarks of something that isn't as legitimate as it is making out," Katherine Hart, the institute's lead officer for doorstep crime, scams and consumer vulnerability told the broadcaster. "The website looks very glossy, but there are a lot of misleading terms on that website that raises my concern," she added.
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Online commenters previously compared the event to Fyre Festival, famously advertised on social media as a tropical VIP music festival which turned out to be a sham. Meanwhile others likened the Lantern Festival to the “embarrassing” Willy Woka event which reduced kids to tears in Glasgow last February. The enchanting videos of lantern releases were in fact from Yi Peng Lantern Festival in Thailand, and from US's The Lights Fest, other comments claimed.
Some of the publicity videos have been watched over a million times (@lanternfestivaluk/TikTok)
Organisers say 45,000 people have pre-registered for tickets to the event (@lanternfestivaluk/TikTok)The Lantern Festival UK tickets cost £35 for an individual, £50 for couples and £75 for groups of four. Events in London and Birmingham are billed on the festival’s website with two of the four shows marked as “sold out”. Many on social media have said they will be demanding refunds after rumours circulated that it was a scam. On X, formerly known as Twitter one user said: "The lantern festival that I keep seeing on TikTok is giving Fyre Festival lol. Huge scam! You think the UK government would actually allow 2,000 lanterns in the sky when ULEZ is a thing?"
"If you're considering paying money to a site claiming to be hosting Lantern Festival UK in Birmingham next month, just bear in mind Chinese lanterns are banned by pretty much every local authority in the Midlands, not to mention the airports in the area," commented another. The Mail claims it has gone to the office listed as Lantern Festival UK's registered business address, only to be told by staff from other companies there that they had “never heard” of the events firm. Birmingham City Council has said its trading standards team is looking into the adverts by Lantern Festival UK after two events were said to be taking place there.
It 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.
The Lantern Festival website promises magical moments but many on social media think it is a scam (lanternfestival.co.uk)"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."
Meanwhile in a response issued this morning (Thursday) the festival’s organisers rejected claims it was a scam. A spokesperson told MirrorOnline: "We share the public and media’s heightened awareness of event promotion, following the disastrous Wonka experience in Glasgow that was widely reported recently. Our events and theirs could not be more different. They added: "Our selection of lanterns is based on ensuring aesthetics that align with our advertisements and an effort to limit the environmental impact as well."
They added that a number of locations had been chosen but new agreements with larger venues had been made due to the popularity of the event. The festival’s website says over 45,000 people have pre-registered for tickets. Details for the Birmingham venue are set to be released in the coming days, Lantern Festival UK have said, the festival is billed to take place in Birmingham on 1 June and 13 July and in London on 26 May and 8 June. Customers could receive a full refund if they return their tickets within 14 days of purchase, the company confirmed.
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