Thousands of New Year’s Eve revellers gathered in Centenary Square last night for a ‘firework spectacular’ that never happened. The hoax event had been publicised on social media leading to large crowds gathering in Birmingham hoping to see the show.
But West Midlands Police officers patrolling the square had to tell those who made their way down that the event was not happening. Social media and AI posts gave the impression that a spectacular fireworks display was going ahead but it was completely false.
Security officers and police were vastly outnumbered by the sea of people but fortunately there was only small pockets of disruption, The Mirror reports. At midnight, many people cheered and one person in the crowd let off a firework while another had a small box but no organised display happened.
It comes after West Midlands Police warned people of the hoax show and asked them not to travel to Centenary Square. A spokesperson said: “We’re aware of speculation of a New Year’s Eve fireworks display taking place in Birmingham’s Centenary Square tonight – but we can confirm this is not the case.
“We don’t want people travelling unnecessarily into the city centre tonight to be left disappointed after discovering the event isn’t taking place. Thousands of revellers will be coming into Birmingham to enjoy the celebrations at bars and venues across the city and that’s why we will have a large visible presence in the city to ensure celebrations go smoothly.”
Birmingham Superintendent, Emlyn Richards, added: “There are rumours online that a fireworks display will take place in Centenary Square but there isn’t a planned event this year. We don’t want people travelling into the city to be disappointed when they arrive and discover this is the case.
“There will be thousands of people travelling into the city to enjoy themselves at venues across the city. We will be visible on the streets tonight to ensure everything runs smoothly and people have a wonderful evening.”