Sentosa sky lantern festival organisers failed to provide proper tethers, fire extinguishers: SCDF

SINGAPORE: The organiser of a sky lantern festival at Sentosa that failed to deliver on its main event did not adhere to stipulated fire safety guidelines, leading the authorities to instruct that candles not be used.

This happened even though the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) reiterated the need for the organiser to adhere to fire safety guidelines on "multiple occasions" leading up to the event.  

The much-publicised festival, held at Palawan Green on Wednesday (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. 

In response to CNA queries, an SCDF spokesperson said late on Thursday 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 Wednesday, 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." 

A spokesperson from Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) said that the event was organised by a third party, Asian Couture & Boutique, which rented the venue.

“As the event organiser was unable to obtain the necessary licences and clearance to meet safety requirements mandated by local authorities such as Singapore Civil Defence Force, the event could only continue with music entertainment.”

Director of airspace policy at the Civil Authority of Singapore (CAAS), Jean Yee told CNA that the release of tethered sky lanterns during the festival did not require a CAAS permit.

This was because the festival had planned for the release to take place outside of military operating hours and restricted areas, and at a height no higher than 60m.

The release of untethered sky lanterns is not allowed in Singapore, as it is a safety risk to aircraft, Ms Yee added.

Sentosa Development Corporation said it was informed by both SCDF and the event organiser of a delay to the start of the event on Wednesday afternoon. 

“We took immediate action to ensure that guests were informed of the situation through signages at key locations from Sentosa Express Beach Station to the site at Palawan Green. Live updates were also provided by the organiser at event ground,” said the spokesperson. 

SDC apologised for any inconvenience caused to guests. It also directed ticketholders to contact the event organiser for refunds: Steven Lau at 9455 5212 and Shiermie Bautista at shiermie85 [at] gmail.com and 84248725.

"ADVISED TO RE-SCHEDULE"

Ms Bautista told CNA that during a site inspection of the venue on Wednesday, SCDF noticed an "inadequate supply of fire extinguishers for such a big crowd". 

"We were advised to re-schedule the segment to release the tethered lanterns to another day instead," she said, adding that existing tickets are still valid for the rescheduled event.

When asked when the rescheduled event would take place, she said that it depended on venue availability and that it might be around the first week of April if it were to take place in Sentosa. 

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 on Thursday the rescheduled Dubai event will be held on Apr 9.

"UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES"

The Sentosa event, scheduled to run from 3pm to midnight, was meant to begin with a music festival before the lantern release at 7.30pm.

However, as participants arrived at the venue, a notice read: “Due to unforeseen circumstances, please note that the Singapore Sky Lantern Festival has been delayed.”

Responding to queries from CNA, a spokesperson from event organiser Asian Couture and Boutique said the sky lanterns could not be released as they wanted to "prioritise the safety" of attendees.

"We are unable to release the sky lanterns with (fire at) the event," the spokesperson said, without elaborating on the nature of the safety concerns.

He said that pens and LED candles were provided so that attendees could still participate in the tradition of writing wishes on the lanterns.

Regarding those seeking refunds, the spokesperson said earlier on Thursday that discussions were ongoing and that an update would be provided within the next two weeks.

LONG QUEUES

Angry participants left complaints on the event’s Facebook page about the abrupt cancellation of the light-up. 

"Instead you let people queue for hours without knowing what’s going on, just to collect 50$ lantern for a souvenir as they are not able to light it anywhere in Singapore," one Facebook user said.

A participant who did not want to be named told CNA that staff on the ground said: "All I can say is we don’t have a permit to light up the lantern."

TikTok user sheryllim80 said that many participants in the queue were unaware of the change as only a small sign was put up. She added that she was told a refund would not be given if people chose to collect the lantern and the LED light.

"Got lantern but no light up," an event employee told TikTok user onericeplease when asked when the lanterns would be going up.

She also noted that the promised food stalls appeared to be "non-existent" and compared the event to Fyre Festival.

Fyre Festival, billed as a luxury event, was supposed to take place over two weekends in the Bahamas in 2017. Customers arrived to learn musical acts were cancelled, with the accommodation and food they were promised falling far short of expectations.

Additional reporting by Grace Yeoh and Lee Chong Ming.