Popular UK Christmas carol event cancelled due to 'dangerous' TikTok crowds
A huge influx of TikTok-inspired carollers has led a beloved community event to be canned.
Columbia Road Carols has become something of a phenomenon in recent weeks. Festive enthusiasts keen to soak up as much Christmas spirit as possible head eddown to the East London market road of a Wednesday evening to give their pipes a work out.
They are led by an enigmatic choir conductor who climbs several feet above the crowds to run through a bevvy of seasonal hits. If you don't know the words, there are QR code accessible hymn sheets posted around.
When the Mirror visited on the final night of carolling before the event was scrapped, Ding Dong Merrily on High rang out joyously across the dense crowd. The refrain from We Three Kings was returned to again and again, have-a-go choir members in woollen hats and gloves bobbing up and down in unison as they bellowed 'star of wonder, star of night'.
It seems that all good things must come to an end. Word of the charming event began to spread like wildfire at the beginning of December when several TikTok videos capturing its magic went viral. "Felt like I’d stepped into the final scene of a British Christmas movie," one video creator wrote above a clip of the carol singing which has attracted more than half a million views.
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The buzz simply proved too much. Last Wednesday the road was completely packed full of punters who jostled and harried one another to get within earshot of the central carolling hub. The queue for a hot dog stand stretched back perhaps 100 punters deep. Many who tried to queue for a pint from one of the pubs gave up halfway through. An authentic, community grown tradition had been killed by its own success.
In a statement, the organising St Peter’s Church said: "With regret we formally announce that carols will not be taking place on Wednesday 13th and 20th December on Columbia Road this year. The crowds of over 7,000 present last week were of such volume on the road that there was a danger to public safety. We are grateful to God and to those working at the event that there were no serious injuries.
"Columbia Road carols has been a great partnership between the shopkeepers on the road, the local community and the parish church. As the church we cherish these relationships. This decision is in support of our community which had became dangerously overrun. Furthermore, this decision is on the strong advice of the police and local authority. We sincerely hope that the shops will now be able to remain open on Wednesday evenings."
In 2022, large numbers visited the Columbia Road carols for the first event after the Covid pandemic, it having been called off for two years during the lockdowns. The singalong was broadcast on BBC London, with the then archdeacon of Charing Cross, the Ven Adam Atkinson, conducting of a rendition of Ding Dong Merrily on High.
The charming street will remain open to punters however, with late night shopping until 9pm on a Wednesday.
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