Editor-DN
In a bizarre turn of events, thousands of Britons were tricked into gathering in Birmingham’s Centenary Square on New Year’s Eve after being tricked by social media hoaxers into celebrating the occasion. There is going to be a non-existent fireworks display. Based on social media rumours, hopeful fans flocked to the venue, but were disappointed as no event was organised, according to a report. The Guardian.
Photos and videos showed thousands of people gathered in anticipation as the clock ticked past the midnight mark. Although there were some loud cheers as the year 2025 ushered in, the promise of grand pyrotechnics fell flat.
West Midlands Police said: “We are aware of speculation that there will be a New Year’s Eve fireworks display in Birmingham’s Centenary Square tonight – but we can confirm that this is not the case.”
Birmingham Updates is believed to be one of the social media accounts that spread the fake news that led to the gathering.
“As a social media page we often receive information from multiple sources, including local journalists and third party sites, in light of this we are now reviewing our sources and editorial guidelines,” said a spokesperson for the page who One is driven by marketing. Agency is said to be nonsensical.
Notably, the rumors were preceded by a warning issued by Birmingham Superintendent Emlyn Richards, urging the public not to congregate.
“We don’t want people making unnecessary journeys into the city center tonight to be disappointed after finding out the event isn’t taking place,” Mr Richards said.
Meanwhile in Birmingham
1000s of people turn up for the New Year’s fireworks show that never happened.
A scam was doing the rounds on social media saying that a New Year’s fireworks show was taking place.
There was no fireworks show when people arrived. pic.twitter.com/u8rS8jSeSh
— London and UK Street News (@CrimeLdn) January 1, 2025The Internet’s reaction
As news of the incident went viral, social media users mocked onlookers at the venue and criticized Birmingham Council for allowing the gathering without proper security measures in place.
“You couldn’t do that makeup, lol,” said one user, while another added: “Can you imagine hitting midnight and nothing happening.”
A third commented: “I’m sorry but thousands of people have been fooled by AI into thinking there will be fireworks in Centenary Square, only for them to count nothing at midnight, I’ve seen Birmingham’s biggest Very sad to hear.”
This is not the first time such a large-scale fraud has led to a public gathering. On Halloween last year, thousands of people gathered in Dublin city center for a spooky season parade.
A Pakistan-based company has issued an apology to Dubliners after a “human error” on its events website.
