Mercury Festival at Suntec City described as 'war zone' amid overcrowding; organisers apologise

What was meant to be a lively event was marred by overcrowding and long queues at art and thrift market Mercury Festival over the weekend, with a would-be attendee describing it as a "war zone" after overcrowding forced organisers to suspend entry at multiple junctures. 

The woman — TikTok user @zilliediaries — posted on that platform on Saturday (June 6) showing a swarm of people populating the fourth floor hallway of Suntec City, with the caption: "It's literally a war zone to Mercury Fest..."

She shared that she was ultimately unable to get in, claiming there were 8,000 people in line and that queue numbers had been stopped. Disappointed by the "wasted trip", she added: "It's like the whole Singapore is here."

Another TikTok video by user @twopratakosong that same day show a large crowd gathered near the entrance, seemingly waiting to be granted entry, at around 1.43pm. 

One netizen commented that they joined the queue at 3.30pm and only managed to enter after almost a five-hour wait at 8pm, shortly before the event ended at 8.30pm.

Mercury Festival is a local art and thrift market featuring small businesses held from June 5 to 7 at Suntec City Hall 406. 

An Instagram post by the organisers on April 3 announced that this year's edition would be twice the size of previous ones. 

The festival used a digital queue system which required visitors to scan a QR code, enter their name and phone number, and receive a queue number. They would then be notified via text message when their number was called.

Visitors were also advised not to linger or queue outside the hall to reduce overcrowding.

'High volume of patrons'

According to an announcement in Mercury Festival's Telegram channel at 4.22pm on Saturday, around 9,300 people were in the queue, with an estimated waiting time of over four hours. 

An update at 5.37pm said the queue had shortened to about 8,000 people, though the estimated waiting time remained the same.

The issues appeared to carry over into Sunday, the third and final day of the event, with many visitors expressing frustration over long waiting times.

One netizen said they had waited over five hours, arriving at 11.30am and was still waiting at 5.41pm.

Another said that only 2,600 ticket numbers — less than half of the total — had been called, despite several hours having passed since the event started.

"As much as I try to be understanding, it would be really unfair for people who got here early for a queue number to wait all day, just to not be let in," a netizen griped. 

When AsiaOne visited the event on Sunday at around 5.40pm, there were still noticeably large crowds gathered outside the entrance, with many patiently waiting to be let in. 

Security personnel could be heard telling visitors that they would only be let in once their queue numbers were called. 

Shortly after 6pm, organisers announced that the online queue system had been permanently closed due to a "high volume of patrons", adding that the last ticket number allowed into the venue would be 5142. 

Organisers apologise

In an announcement at 1.16pm on Saturday, the organisers apologised for the "frustration" caused by the long waiting times on Friday and attributed the early closure of the virtual queue to unforeseen circumstances due to the large crowd.

"We are modifying our queue system based on feedback from you guys and Suntec's regulations, so that everyone can have an enjoyable experience," wrote the organisers. 

In response to AsiaOne's queries, the organisers of Mercury Festival said there were about 15,000 individuals waiting to enter the hall at around 1pm on Saturday.

Based on previous events which attracted about 5,000 to 6,000 attendees per day, they had expected 8,000 patrons on average and 10,000 at peak periods. However, the event saw more than double of those numbers.

"The long queues and congestion were caused by a combination of factors, including a significantly higher visitor turnout, the hall's safe capacity limits and the need to pace entry to prevent overcrowding in the space," the organisers said.

Despite repeated requests by organisers to allow more patrons into the venue, they said they were unable to admit more people due to the mall's capacity limit of 1,000 patrons inside at all times and their own concerns to ensure a safe shopping environment.

"Some visitors who joined the queue on Friday and Saturday were ultimately unable to enter, and we sincerely apologise for the disappointment and inconvenience caused," the organisers said, adding that this is one of the key areas being reviewed for future editions of the event. 

Acknowledging that the waiting experience was "not acceptable and inconsiderate" to visitors, the organisers said: "We are treating this experience seriously and reviewing our capacity planning, queue management, live updates, manpower deployment, and entry system so that future Mercury Festival editions can better match visitor demand."

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