Is the UK Lantern Festival you keep seeing all over your TikTok actually a ‘scam’?

If you’ve so much as scrolled for five seconds on TikTok lately you’re sure to have come across an advert for the first UK Lantern Festival taking place in London and Birmingham. The adverts on TikTok show some incredible aesthetic-looking videos and pictures of the Lantern Festival, but could the event actually turn out to be a ‘scam?’

The advertising images shown are from other lantern festival companies outside the UK

Firstly, the advertisement for the festival itself is slightly questionable as it comprises stock pictures of London and Birmingham on one slide and appears to have taken footage from other lantern events abroad to use as their own. One video shows the Yi Peng Lantern Festival in Thailand whilst the other is from The Lights Fest which takes place in the United States, this discrepancy is another reason why UK customers are growing more concerned that it might be a TikTok ‘scam.’

Despite the website saying all the tickets are completely sold out, you can still buy them

The event is set to take place in Birmingham on June 1 and July 13, and in London on May 26 and June 8. Despite the website saying all the tickets for all four Lantern Festival events have completely sold out, oddly it is still possible to buy tickets.

Its Refund Policy states there will be ‘no ticket returns’

All of the tickets are currently on sale for £35 down from £50 per person, and despite saying it has a “money back guarantee” in their Refund Policy it also states that all “Ticket sales are deemed as final transactions. There will be no ticket returns/exchanges/cancellations.”

The Lantern Festival UK organisers also add that if the event is cancelled in its entirety due to unforeseen circumstances, it reserves the “sole and absolute right” to not issue refunds, furthering worrying customers that this could mean the TikTok event is actually a ‘scam.’

The specific event location for Birmingham or London has not yet been revealed

Whilst the website states the festival will take place in Birmingham and London it has not yet revealed the specific location for the event, and claims further details will be given on 20 April.

The website describes the event as: “magical moments that leave you breathless and filled with wonder.” It also addresses environmental claims, claiming that “every lantern used will be carefully collected and recycled, leaving no trace behind.”

Birmingham Council Trading Standards team are looking into the potential ‘scam’

Hundreds of councils across the UK have banned the release of paper lanterns due to the danger they can cause to livestock with NFU Vice President David Exwood saying: “Sky lanterns continue to be a real danger to many of us living and working in the countryside. They can cause serious injury to livestock if they are eaten, particularly with so many calves and lambs in the fields in the spring and summer months.”

Among the 200 councils that have banned paper lanterns include Birmingham City Council as well as the local London authorities of Ealing, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Redbridge and Wandsworth. As a result of the Tikok Lantern Festival UK being advertised as taking place in Birmingham on TikTok, the City Council has now started looking into whether the adverts are actually a “scam.”

A spokesperson told MailOnline: “We are aware of a number of online adverts promoting a lantern festival, reportedly including two dates in Birmingham, that have prompted concern this could be a scam – and our Trading Standards team are looking into this.

“Birmingham City Council does not permit the intentional release into the sky of lanterns from any land or property which it owns and/or controls – this includes our streets, public spaces, cemeteries and local authority schools.

“They may travel and land anywhere, potentially causing harm to wildlife and the environment, and in the case of sky lanterns, have been the cause of several major fires. Full details of the council’s policy on the release of sky lanterns and balloons can be found on the council’s website.”

The Tab has contacted The Lantern Festival for comment.

For more on whether the viral TikTok Lantern Festival UK is actually a ‘scam’ all the latest music and entertainment news and gossip, like Pop Culture Shrine on Facebook.

Related stories recommended by this writer:

• The woman from *that* viral window video has shared the real story behind the flashing

• Fancy yourself as a secret agent? This brain teaser is used to recruit actual spies

• Guys, we finally have an update on THAT Granny falling the off boat video and she’s ok!

Featured images via TikTok