Prosecco & Balls event in Warwick is cancelled

Prosecco and Balls – UK Tour have just posted an official statement saying that their Warwick event, which was due to be held at The Empire in Coventry on 24 February 2018, is cancelled. The website where tickets can be bought says this is due to “unforeseen circumstances”.

Like the name suggests, these events feature an adult-sized ball pit where people can enjoy a “childish world filled with joy, laughter and prosecco,” according to the event description.

In the statement issued on the event page, Prime Live Group LTD, the company organising these events,  blames a “hate group” of customers for the cancellation, who allegedly made bad publicity for the events.

The statement says: “Around 2-3 months ago a hate group was formed against the company by a small group of disgruntled customers who believed our events weren’t up to their expectations and made threats to damage any future events unless we adhere to some extreme negotiations.

Since then they have contacted various legal bodies including trading standards and the police, however both have deemed our company to be of good intentions and good faith towards our customers.”

They also claim that the hate group contacted various UK media outlets, convincing them to write articles about the company’s events being a “scam”. Prime Live Group LTD argues that this led to venues losing trust in the company, which created a “domino effect” that affected their other events.

The statement further reads: “Unfortunately social media and the media can be an extremely harmful tool at times and it seems simple rumours and bullying tactics have forced us to cease trading as a company and seek advice from an insolvency agency.”

According to the post, the police is looking to prosecute members of the “hate group”. The company insist that it can provide evidence in the form of invoices for specific events and their public liability insurance for running UK based events, among others, to prove their legitimacy.

The post also says that the company aims to refund everyone to the best of their abilities, but details have not yet been confirmed.

According to an article by The Drinks Business, the company made a series of cancellations in the past. An event due to take place in Belfast on 17 November was cancelled with a 48h notice, allegedly due to not enough demand for tickets, although it is reported that about 250 tickets were sold.

The same article also says that another event due to take place in Shrewsbury the following day did not go through because the venue had shut down. There are also reports about customers struggling to obtain refunds for the cancelled events.

This article will be updated as more information is made available.