The once-trendy Christmas market has been transformed into a ‘calm festive environment’ after thousands flocked to the site when it became a TikTok sensation last year.
Organizers scrapped the event at the Columbia Road Christmas market in Bethnal Green last year after 7,000 people flooded the site sparking public safety fears.
The east London market will also be without Christmas carols this year, after planners were forced to ban carols due to an unprecedented number of tourists.
This site has been filled with festive joy for over a decade, with free mulled wine offerings, piano sing-alongs, and shopping hours again every Wednesday.
Led by the archdeacon of St Peter’s Church in singing Christmas carols, the east London borough is often filled with 200 people.
However, the market’s long-standing tradition of glee came to an end when a viral TikTok video was viewed more than half a million times last year.
After the video appeared online, visitors descended on the market the following Wednesday, where the crowd was ‘packed in like sardines’.
It has also been described as a ‘disaster waiting to happen’, while locals have blamed the ‘dangerous’ excesses on events advertised on social media.
And after just two shows on Christmas Wednesday, event organizers St Peter’s Bethnal Green announced plans to scrap caroling – a decision they have continued this year.
Visitors posted video of crowds at an east London Christmas market last year, as one called it a ‘disaster waiting to happen’
Hundreds of videos of the event were posted on TikTok, showing the bustling Columbia Road Christmas market after the event went viral on social media in 2023.
In a statement, the Rev Heather Atkinson previously said: ‘It is with regret that we officially announce that carols will not be performed on Wednesday 13 and 20 December at Columbia Road this year.
The crowd of more than 7,000 who were there last week was so large on the streets that it posed a danger to public safety.
‘We thank God and the people working on the show that there were no serious injuries.’
At the time, he said local residents, the police and Tower Hamlets council supported the decision to crack down on the chants, which were ‘so dangerous’.
‘For those who come to Columbia Road to shop, I hope you will come back. For those who come for carols alone please go local,’ they continued.
Columbia Road has long been a tourist hotspot in the capital, with a flower market held every Sunday, seeing an increase in visitors throughout the year – partly due to promotion by social media influencers.
One Tower Hamlets, an X account representing residents and business owners in Bethnal Green claims when tourists spend ‘nothing in the shops’.
Footage of last year’s event showing a sea of ​​people on the streets has been shared on social media, with many saying they have become ‘victims of their own success’.
Columbia Street Stores and Flower Market posted to say their songs were canceled last year – a decision they decided to take again this year after the TikTok chaos.
The event, which has been running for ten years, was canceled after just two Christmas Wednesdays last year due to overcrowding
Locals blame ‘dangerous’ noise for event advertised on social media (Image: Attendees in 2023)
One woman captioned the TikTok video: ‘Too many festive vibes. I wanted to punch him, when another event-goer commented: ‘Evidence of social media destroying Christmas Carols on Columbia Road. Packed like sardines.’
It comes as punters turned out at Britain’s biggest German Christmas market in Birmingham, dubbing it a ‘rip-off’ for charging £21 for a beer and hot dog.
Revelers attending the Frankfurt Birmingham Christmas Market have complained after prices rose to an all-time high when it opened on Saturday, November 1.
Two-pint steins of Hofbrau German wheat beer cost £12.50, while a half-metre Bratwurst costs £9 and a bag of toasted almonds £4.50.
Some have even threatened to boycott this year’s attraction, which boasts the largest authentic German Christmas market outside of Germany or Austria.
Visitors also take exception to the stricter rules that prohibit people from buying more than one drink at a time from the bar – despite the long queues.
