London – Concerns about public safety prompted the cancellation of one of London’s most well-known community Christmas carol events, even though thousands of people attended and sang along to holiday favorites. The incident went viral on TikTok.
For the past ten years, Londoners have congregated around the Columbia Road Flower Market on Wednesdays to browse local stores, enjoy mulled wine, and sing Christmas songs. An archdeacon would lead a couple hundred people in hymns like “We Three Kings” and “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” while a local church piano was moved outside.
This year, TikTok footage of one of the December meetings went viral, and ten times as many people showed up to sing, packing the streets and raising safety concerns.
“How is this event enjoyable?” one guest asked on social media, posting photos of throngs stretching as far as the eye could see. “Massively crowded, no way to enter any stores, let alone get a cup of mulled wine…this is anything but festive.” You should have used crowd control… With these many people, disaster is only around the corner!”
The event’s host church, St. Peter’s Bethnal Green, issued a statement announcing the cancelation of the remaining December sessions.
“The crowds of over 7,000 people present last week were of such volume on the road that there was a danger to public safety,” stated Rev. Heather Atkinson. “We are grateful to God and to those working at the event that there were no serious injuries.”
