Dublin's first major gaming convention, GamerCon, was the subject of angry and tense scenes today as outside the Convention Centre, queues of hundreds of people were turned away from the event by staff.
According to reports from those on the ground, some were queuing for close to four hours before being told that they would not receive entry to the event. The two-day gaming event was heavily publicised and featured well-known YouTube and Twitch personalities, as well as stands for Xbox, PlayStation, Ubisoft and other gaming platforms and franchises.
Current scenes pic.twitter.com/aC22MppCdA
— Craig Jocelyn (@CraigOHoon) March 18, 2017
#GamerCon complete waste of time. Drove from Cork. Kids devastated. Security said it was full. Queued for 2 hours. Entrance not in sight.
— Angela Tochet (@angelatochet) March 18, 2017
This is quite possibly the worst organised event I've been to. Appears to have been oversold. Lot of angry people here. #gamercon
— Ken Whelan (@kenwhelan) March 18, 2017
#GamerCon Dublin , expect long queues. Been here since 10am and still waiting to get in😩. @GamerCon_Europe this is a joke!
— Graham (@graham_howard92) March 18, 2017
@BrianMLloyd we drove up from Cork. Queued for 2 hours. Told by security that they weren't letting anyone in. Kids freezing so we left.
— Angela Tochet (@angelatochet) March 18, 2017
@BrianMLloyd my cousins payed for 6 VIP passes and couldn't get in after queuing for 3 hours and a 2 hour drive from cork
— Scott aspill (@realSCOTTzombie) March 18, 2017
@BrianMLloyd From Wexford, waited for 2 hours with little brother, told to walk away at the door, managers nowhere to be seen,
— Padraig Murphy (@Podoloco1997) March 18, 2017
@BrianMLloyd bought VIP for daughter. No difference. Squashed. No benefit. Staff non existent. Expensive.
— David Langan (@culture83) March 18, 2017
All of GamerCon's social media channels were bombarded by angry patrons who paid for tickets and were told by security staff that they were not going to be allowed into the event as it was at capacity. Many comments also were demanding refunds for their tickets.
GamerCon has since updated its ticket page, explaining that it will issue refunds once the event has been completed next week.
Ferdi Roberts, founder of GamerCon, issued a statement on the event today, which we've printed below.
"GamerCon sincerely apologises for the significant delays that our attendees experienced this morning. As a first time event we underestimated the traffic flow that we forecast for the event and have very strict health and safety related capacities which we must adhere to. That temporarily impacted our ability to process the queue which resulted in longer than expected wait time for our attendees. We are managing this proactively and expect the situation to ease as the day progresses. We have offered full refunds to those who decide not to attend and have communicated this to attendees via mobile app and all social media channels."
UPDATE: 19.10
A report by RTE News this evening found that GamerCon sold 12,000 day tickets for both today and tomorrow, however the Convention Centre Dublin has a maximum capacity of 9,400 people. Speaking to RTE News, Mr. Roberts said that the event was oversold on the belief that not all those who bought tickets would be there all day. Further, Mr. Roberts said that tickets would only be refunded to those who did not make it into the event today, or those who do not make it in tomorrow.
Were you at GamerCon Dublin today? Let us know in the comments.
