Sentosa's brand sentiments plummet after sky lantern festival flops

Sentosa's brand sentiments have plummeted from 22.6% positive and 3.3% negative to 3.4% positive and 66.4% negative after a sky lantern festival held at Sentosa’s Palawan Green left patrons angry when they were unable to release lanterns due to the organiser’s inability to obtain the necessary licenses, according to media intelligence firm CARMA. 

The Sky Lantern Festival was meant to feature floating lanterns lit by candles that would be floated into the sky for a few minutes while being tethered to the ground so that they could be brought down safely. Unfortunately, it was announced at the last minute that patrons would be unable to release the lanterns into the sky. 

Rather, the festival, organised by Asian Couture & Boutique, could only continue with music entertainment. 

The Sky Lantern Festival at Sentosa’s Palawan Green has left its patrons demanding refunds after they found out that they could not release any lanterns due to the organiser’s inability to obtain the necessary licenses.

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When MARKETING-INTERACTIVE reached out to Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC), a spokesperson said that Asian Couture & Boutique did not get clearance to meet the safety requirements mandated by local authorities such as the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).

"We understand the disappointment of all ticketholders to the Singapore Sky Lantern Festival that was scheduled to be held yesterday at Palawan Green. The event was organised by a third party, Asian Couture & Boutique Pte Ltd which rented the venue from SDC," said SDC. 

The SCDF also reportedly informed event organisers about the fire safety guidelines in October last year and also conducted a trial two days before the festival. However, as one of the lit lanterns created a small fire on the artificial turf, the trial was deemed unsatisfactory, according to The Straits Times.

The spokesperson from SDC also said that after knowledge of the delays, guests were informed of the situation through signboards at key locations from Sentosa Express Beach Station to the site at Palawan Green. Live updates were provided by the organiser at event ground, they added.

Steven Lau, the director of Asian Couture and Boutique reportedly said that the organisers were aware that lanterns with open flames could not be released the morning of the event. Instead, patrons were to pen down their wishes with a lantern, pen and LED light distributed to each patron.

More than 2000 people were affected with tickets for the festival priced at up to S$53.47 each on ticketing website Eventbrite. Eventgoers then took to social media to share pictures and videos of the event while noting that they were not properly informed, had to wait in long queues and that they were allegedly not welcome to a refund if they chose to pick up a lantern, pen and LED light. 

Prior to the incident, Sentosa's word cloud featured words such as 'experience', 'gardens' and 'luxury'.

However, the word cloud shifted drastically after the incident, according to CARMA. Words such as 'lantern', 'angry' and 'refunds' stood out. 

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to for more information. 

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