One of the most popular Christmas carol events in London had to be canceled due to thousands of TikTokers showing up. For the past 10 years, people have celebrated this party near the Columbia Road Flower Market every Wednesday in December. People sing Christmas songs such as “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” and “We Three Kings,” drink warm spiced wine and visit shops. This time, videos of the event went viral on TikTok and made the party super famous, leading to more people to come than usual.
Party stopped over safety reasons
Normally, a couple of hundred people sing together outside with a piano, but this year, about 7,000 people came, causing overcrowding problems. The church in charge, St. Peter’s Bethnal Green, announced the cancellation of the event for the rest of December.
“The crowds of over 7,000 present last week were of such volume on the road that there was a danger to public safety,” said the Reverend Heather Atkinson in a statement.
“As the church we cherish these relationships. This decision is in support of our community which had become dangerously overrun,” he added. They were thankful that no one got seriously hurt. The decision to stop the parties was made with advice from the police and local authorities.
Online backlash and criticism
Moya Lothian-Mclean, a freelance journalist, posted footage on X with the caption, “‘Heard another interesting (and sad!) example of social media virality being a burden: Columbia Road Market has cancelled their weekly caroling event because it was becoming overcrowded after going viral on TikTok.”
Ms. Lothian-Mclean wasn’t the only person disappointed in the event being shut down, as several individuals have expressed their dismay on X.
While the event was cancelled, the minister still urged people to return to Columbia Road if they planned to shop.
