How the dinner was promoted. Photo / Diner En Blanc London, Facebook
How the dinner was promoted. Photo / Diner En Blanc London, Facebook
It was supposed to be an elegant affair for Londoners, but this year's Diner en Blanc was a "horror show" according to angry guests.
An exclusive outdoor picnic that promised to recreate the "elegance and glamour of high French society" in a London park has been dubbed the UK's very own Fyre Festival after descending into chaos.
On paper, this year's Diner en Blanc was described as a magical event where guests dressed in all white would gather for a mass "chic picnic" at a secret location revealed at the last minute.
Previous locations for the annual event, which takes place in more than 80 cities across the world, have included in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, outside The Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne and Somerset House in London — one of the most beautiful courtyards in Europe.
Massive let down at #DinerEnBlanc. Been standing in the cold for ages. Almost 3 hours since the meeting time and still not started pic.twitter.com/6LAfCKvJk4
But what actually materialised on Friday, according to attendees, was "a horror show" where guests queued for several hours for food inside a packed marquee in a "boggy field" at Battersea Park in London's south.
"A one-hour public bus to a tent in a boggy field. Wait another hour to get in … form a line to collect your table and chairs to be told they've run out. Also ran out of food and wine," Philip Harrison said.
"Musical chairs type thing followed, some of us sat, some had to stand … I wouldn't go to another Diner en Blanc even if I was paid."
Three days later, disappointed guests were continuing to flood the event's Facebook page with scathing reviews and demands for refunds.
One woman, Amy Parry, described it as London's very own Fyre Festival — the luxury Bahamas music festival that stranded high-paying guests without food and proper accommodation in 2017 and turned out to be an elaborate scam.
"Last night was the most underwhelming, overpriced and disorganised event I have ever been to," she wrote.
Another woman, Nicole Taylor, described guests being held "like pigs in a pen".
"We stood outside for over an hour while videographers filmed the empty marquee and some stilt walkers to make the evening look good on social post-event," she said.
Then the picnic descended into a "free-for-all", according to Ms Taylor.
"Those who had prepaid upwards of $120 for premium champagne were handed prosecco," she said.
"The tables were so tightly packed you couldn't leave your seat."
The organisers apologised for a few "hiccups" in a speech on the night, according to attendee Peter Church, but dismissed suggestions they had been "hiding".
Diner En Blanc at The Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne in 2018. Photo / News Corp Australia
Staff members also admitted guests had deserved better.
"I volunteered to organise for this event … but (there was) no proper communication on roles until last minute," Eunice Akinyi said.
