Chinese New Year at palace not the cracker it was billed as
IT WAS meant to be a Chinese New Year celebration like no other, with street food, lanterns and a litany of customs and traditions.
But Blenheim Palace had to apologise after visitors were instead met with food served from a lone noodle van, painfully long queues and sparse entertainment.
Visitors branded the event “a farce”, “shambolic”, and “insulting”. Some said they had demanded refunds, having travelled from afar to be there. Family tickets cost more than £62.
One attendee said the lanterns “looked like they were from Poundland”, and another said his back garden had hosted more spectacular events.
Worse, despite promises of Chinese feasts from myriad stalls, there was just one vendor, selling noodles and chips.
The event was advertised as having “a traditional Double Guan Yin Chinese Lion dance accompanied by a drummer” and organisers promised “delicious Chinese street food from a variety of stalls in the Great Court.”
Advertising boasted: “Don’t miss out on special photos and meet-and-greet opportunities with the lion; venture into the Palace to warm up and discover the magnificent Great Hall festooned with strings of Chinese lanterns.” But visitors reported finding a “timid” PA system, long queues for the solitary food van and just two posters showing a timetable of events.
A spokesman for the palace, which is a Unesco World Heritage site, said they were “let down by several vendors”.