But some social media users have claimed they have heard nothing so far and say the event is a “scam”.
On Twitter, one user compared the event to Fyre Festival and added: “Huge scam! You think the UK government would actually allow 2,000 lanterns in the sky when ULEZ is a thing? If you bought a ticket you better start making a claim with your bank now.”
Aliyah Atkins, a 19-year-old TikTok creator from Bedfordshire, said in a video watched 1.4 million times: “I hate to be the bearer of bad news for all you people that have bought the Lantern Festival tickets – you’ve fallen into a scam. Are we being for real, are people genuinely believing this?”
The Fyre Festival scam became notorious after a luxury music festival was organised by a con artist on the island of Great Exuma in the Bahamas, and promoted by celebrities and influencers.
Revellers arrived on the island for events which were indefinitely postponed and eventually cancelled.
A pre-sale registration form, which Lantern Festival UK links to in its social media pages, purports to have been filled out by more than 45,000 people.
Sky lanterns have been ‘cause of several major fires’
But Birmingham City Council, having previously banned sky lanterns, is now investigating the situation and urged ticket-holders to send evidence of the scam to its Trading Standards team.
A spokesman for the authority 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.”
Multiple London authorities have also banned sky lanterns, including in Ealing, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Redbridge and Wandsworth, making it unclear where the company plans to hold the apparent festival.
In a statement on Wednesday night, Lantern Festival UK told The Telegraph: “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.”
It added that “the lantern festival will be hosted on private land and therefore does not require planning permission from the local council” and details of the Birmingham venue will be released within days.
The festival admitted that it had “used some stock footage in our promotional videos” but insisted that the events “will be professionally produced and will meet all safety standards” and limit environmental impacts.
William Turner is a seasoned U.K. correspondent with a deep understanding of domestic affairs. With a passion for British politics and culture, he provides insightful analysis and comprehensive coverage of events within the United Kingdom.
