Sentosa sky lantern festival: No refunds but tickets valid for rescheduled event, says organiser

SINGAPORE: No refunds will be given to attendees of a sky lantern festival at Sentosa that left many disappointed when the event’s highly-anticipated candle light-up was scrapped at the eleventh hour. 

The organiser behind the Singapore Sky Lantern Festival said on Tuesday (Feb 27) that ticket sales were final and non-refundable. 

“Tickets are valid for entry at the time of reschedule event around 1st week of April,” said Asian Couture and Boutique’s Shiermie Bautista in a Facebook post. 

“For those who can’t attend the next event, you can re-sell your tickets at TicketSwap. Thank you for your kind understanding.”

The much-publicised festival, held at Palawan Green on Feb 21, cost S$50 per person excluding booking fees.

Participants had been sold on the promise of a photogenic lantern light-up with burning candles. These lanterns were meant to float in the sky for five to 10 minutes while being tethered to the ground via 60m-long strings. 

However, many ticketholders were left disappointed and angry when they arrived to find that “unforeseen circumstances” had changed these plans, with attendees offered LED candles instead. They were also provided with pens to write their wishes on the lanterns before tying them to the barricades. 

Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) later said that the event organiser did not obtain the necessary licences and clearance to meet mandated safety requirements. 

The event was organised by a third party, Asian Couture & Boutique, which rented the venue, said an SDC spokesperson last week. 

The spokesperson also directed ticketholders to contact the event organiser for refunds: Steven Lau at 94555212 and Shiermie Bautista at shiermie85 [at] gmail.com and 84248725.

A representative for the event organiser also said on Feb 22 that discussions regarding refunds were ongoing, and that an update would be provided in two weeks. 

REFUNDS

The ensuing confusion and anger prompted many attendees to take to social media, with a large number of them demanding refunds. 

TikTok user sheryllim80 said that she was told a refund would not be given if people chose to collect the lantern and the LED light.

Facebook user Marcus Tang shared a photo of the lantern, LED light, tether and pen on the event's page."Which scientist think(s) these combinations will make the paper lantern fly!" he said. 

Ms Bautista said on Tuesday that the event organisers were “advised last minute” to not proceed with the tethered lantern release segment due to “inadequate supply of extinguishers”. 

“We decided to reschedule the release to another day instead, as it might cause stampede. Though other segments of the show pushed through such as music festival,” she added, enclosing photos of large groups of people at the Palawan Green festival as well as an attendee posing with the LED candles.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said in response to queries from CNA last week that the organiser did not adhere to stipulated fire safety guidelines even though these requirements had been reiterated on “multiple occasions” leading up to the event. 

An SCDF spokesperson said that sky lanterns must be tethered at all times when lit. Safety marshals must be on-site to supervise the event and in particular, prevent the lanterns from being released if they are not tethered. 

The safety marshals must also be equipped with fire extinguishers.

For this event, SCDF said it informed the organiser of the fire safety guidelines on Oct 31, reiterating these requirements on multiple occasions leading up to the event.

The event organiser then conducted a trial on Feb 19. This was unsatisfactory as "one of the lighted lanterns caused a small fire on the artificial turf", said the SCDF spokesperson. 

After the event was fully set up on Feb 21, SCDF conducted a site inspection and found that the organiser had failed to adhere to the guidelines. 

"They did not provide proper tethers for the sky lanterns, nor fire extinguishers, or safety marshals," the spokesperson said.

"Therefore, in the interest of public and aviation safety, SCDF informed the event organiser that they should not use the sky lanterns for the event. The event organiser eventually used LED lights for the lanterns." 

Ms Bautista is behind a similar lantern event that was supposed to have taken place on Valentine's Day last year in Dubai's Qudra Desert. But instead of tethers, the lanterns were to be released.

She promoted the event on her personal Facebook page in November 2022.

However, the event was later "postponed until further notice". The Dubai Sky Lantern Festival 2023 said in a Facebook announcement that the postponement was due to "issues" with the aviation authority and that refunds would be provided. 

Ms Bautista told CNA last week the rescheduled Dubai event will be held on Apr 9.