Minecraft Meet-up in Peterborough Awful!
Minecraft meet-up in Peterborough described as 'awful'
14 September 2015
Angry parents of Minecraft gamers have taken to social media to complain about "awful" queues and a lack to do at an unofficial convention.
On Saturday, approximately 4,100 people attended MineVention at Peterborough Arena to meet stars and take part in games.
However, dozens of people said they had to wait for hours to see idols or eat food and demanded refunds.
Organiser Lisa O'Brien said the queues were long, and she'll issue a statement about refunds in the near future.
The event is not affiliated with Minecraft developer Mojang and was started in Ireland. It was the first time it was held in the UK.
TV presenter
Fans of Minecraft the world-wide gaming phenomenon, had the opportunity to meet "Youtubers", take photos and play games.
The event was hosted by Jason Bradbury, TV's Gadget Show host, and urged participants to dress as Steve the game's protagonist to attempt a world record.
However, it was later under fire on social media with people complaining of long queues, a absence of food and merchandise stalls and activities for fans.
Vicky Abraham shared on Facebook that she had waited with her five-year old son for more than an hour and only 30 seconds on the computer.
Another parent reported waiting 45 minutes for a bottle of water and said the experience was "appalling" with "naff-all to do". Another person contacted the BBC to say they left after a half-hour as the queues were so bad, and her son was "crying all the way to home".
Some people posted on Facebook that they were happy with the event, with one of them said: "I thought your event was great for PS15."
Lisa O'Brien of O'Brien Event Management said she felt with parents as we all have children. Due to the huge number of people that showed at the event, rather than purchasing tickets in advance, lines were 45 minutes long, she said.
She claimed that the event was unprecedented in its size and that some official merchandise didn't arrive in time for the event to begin.
She said that organisers had "taken into consideration all comments and suggestions" and were scheduled to meet to work out what went wrong, and that a further statement would be issued on Monday evening.
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MineVention
Peterborough Arena