No refund for tickets sold, says Singapore Sky Lantern Festival organiser

[UPDATE Feb 29]

Clearance has not been given for the rescheduled Singapore Sky Lantern Festival event, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said on Feb 29 (Thursday).

The event organisers had informed SCDF on Feb 23 that they decided to reschedule the Sky Lantern Festival, but they did not provide further information on the date or venue, SCDF told AsiaOne.

"As SCDF is still following up with the event organisers on the details and the implementation of the fire safety guidelines, we have not given any clearance for the rescheduled event," said a SCDF spokesperson.

Event organisers who wish to use sky lanterns must adhere to fire safety guidelines which are listed on the SCDF's website, the spokesperson added.

According to SCDF, they had informed the event organisers of the fire safety guidelines on Oct 31, and reiterated the need to adhere to the guidelines on multiple occasions leading up to the event.

"On Feb 19, the event organisers conducted a trial which was unsatisfactory as one of the lit lanterns caused a small fire on the artificial turf," the spokesperson said.

After the event venue was fully set up on Feb 21, SCDF conducted a site inspection and found that the event organisers had not adhered to the fire safety guidelines.

Noting that the event organisers did not provide proper tethers for the sky lanterns, nor fire extinguishers, or safety marshals, SCDF told them that they should not use the sky lanterns for the event, in the interest of public and aviation safety.

The organiser of the Singapore Sky Lantern Festival at Sentosa said on Tuesday (Feb 27) that it will not be issuing refunds, a week after attendees complained about the event.

"Ticket sales are final and non-refundable," wrote Shiermie Bautista, owner of Asian Couture and Boutique, in a Facebook post. 

The tickets can be used for the rescheduled event - which will happen around the first week of April, she said.

Bautista's statement comes amidst an outcry from event attendees who said they "felt scammed" after the festival's sky lantern light up on Feb 21 was cancelled at the last minute.

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Having paid about $50 for a ticket, they demanded a refund.

On Tuesday, the event organiser said that it was "advised at the last minute" not to proceed with the tethered lantern light up.

According to Bautista, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) inspected the event venue and found that there was an inadequate supply of fire extinguishers there.

"We decided to reschedule the release to another day instead, as it might cause a stampede," she said.

"As public safety is our utmost concern, we adhered to the authorities' safety guidelines. Apologies for the inconvenience."

However, the event organiser's explanation did not sit well with the public, as some people took to Reddit to express their anger.

One netizen said: "Why bother redoing the whole thing when they didn't even plan properly the first time? Don't waste everyone's time and don't give them false hope again. So f*****g ridiculous."

"Who would want to give this event a second chance after the disaster that happened initially?" asked another.

Meanwhile, a third netizen compared the event to the infamous Fyre Festival scandal, saying: "Isn't this exactly what Fyre promised?"

AsiaOne has contacted the SCDF for comment.

bhavya.rawat@asiaone.com