TanaCon
From Invertopedia, the encyclopedia of how things fail
TanaCon was a mostly free fan convention that YouTuber Tana Mongeau put on in June 2018 as an alternative to VidCon, at a hotel next to it[1][2][6]. Garden Grove police said about 4,000 tickets were sold for ballrooms that could hold at most 1,150 people, and that a crowd of 4,000 to 5,000 waited outside, some for four to six hours in the heat[1]. It was shut down on its first day, June 22, and the second day was cancelled[1][2].
Contents
The bet
Mongeau had said she was disillusioned with VidCon[6], and TanaCon was booked for the same weekend at a venue next door[2]. Most tickets were free or $1, with $65 VIP passes[2][4], so fans already in Anaheim for VidCon could walk over and meet her and her friends.
What happened
| Jun 22, 2018, morning | Fans are told to arrive between 6 and 8 a.m.; entry reportedly does not start until about 9.[4] |
|---|---|
| Jun 22, 2018 | Thousands queue outside the Anaheim Marriott Suites without food, water or shade. VIP ticket holders wait in the same line.[4][6] |
| Jun 22, 2018 | Parents call police over heat exposure. Hotel staff lock themselves in offices and call for help. About 20 officers and hotel supervisors disperse the crowd.[1] |
| Jun 22, 2018 | Mongeau tweets that the show is moving to a venue nearby that "holds an extra 5,000 people."[2] |
| Jun 23, 2018 | After an overnight security meeting ends, apparently without agreement, Good Times emails attendees that TanaCon is cancelled.[2][4] |
| Jun 24, 2018 | Mongeau apologizes on Twitter and says refunds will be issued.[4][6] |
| Jul 2, 2018 | Shane Dawson finishes a three-part documentary on TanaCon. It reports that the hotel contract was for 1,000 expected guests and that ticket money was held by the ticketing company, Veeps.[5] |
| Jul 2018 | Veeps begins refunds; claims are open until August 3. Some attendees talk about a class action over travel costs.[3] |
The kill shot
Free tickets meant nobody knew how many people would come, and the plan had no answer for the crowd that did.
The numbers never agreed. Police said about 4,000 tickets went out for ballrooms that held 1,150[1]. Mongeau's team said about 5,000 tickets were sold and that the Marriott held 5,000, while the listed capacity of all its event spaces added up to 3,198[2]. Dawson's series reported a hotel contract for 1,000 guests[5].
On top of the ticket holders, Mongeau and Good Times said as many as 15,000 people without tickets joined the queue[2][6]. Police put the whole crowd at 4,000 to 5,000[1]. Either way it was several times what the rooms could hold, and it had nowhere to wait but outside in the sun.
Red flags ignored
- Free means no commitment. A $1 or free ticket[2][4] costs nothing to claim and nothing to skip, so it says little about who will turn up.
- Capacity figures that did not match. 5,000, 3,198 and 1,150 were all cited as the capacity, and the hotel contract expected 1,000 guests.[1][2][5]
- Next door to a much bigger event. Booking beside VidCon on the same weekend put thousands of fans within walking distance.[2]
- No plan for the line. Fans were told to come at dawn and then waited for hours with no water.[1][4]
The cost
Dawson's series said 5,108 VIP tickets were sold at $65, for about $325,000[5]. The refunds went through Veeps, with claims open until August 3, 2018[3]. Travel costs had not been covered as of mid-July 2018; one attendee told Inverse of spending $789 on travel and lodging[3].
Police said one 14-year-old was injured by the crowd[1].
The inversion
Plan for everyone who says yes showing up.
What survived
The refunds and the story. Ticket buyers could claim their money back through Veeps[3]. Dawson's documentary series drew 9.7 million and 9 million views for its first two episodes[5], and Mongeau said she would try a free convention again[6].
References
- ^ “Parents Called The Police Because Their Teens Were Getting Sunburned At TanaCon”. BuzzFeed News, June 26, 2018. The Garden Grove police account: about 4,000 tickets, 1,150 capacity, a 4,000 to 5,000 crowd, four-to-six-hour waits, heat calls, staff locked in offices, about 20 officers, one 14-year-old injured; shut down on day one.
- ^ “After Thousands Of Unticketed Guests Show Up, Tana Mongeau's TanaCon Is Cancelled”. Tubefilter, June 22, 2018 (updated June 23). The venue beside VidCon, free tickets and $65 VIP, the 5,000 ticket and capacity claims against a listed 3,198, 15,000 unticketed, the move to a second venue, Good Times' cancellation email.
- ^ “TanaCon Has Started Issuing Refunds, but Some Still Want a Lawsuit”. Inverse, July 11, 2018. Veeps refunds and the August 3 claim deadline, Good Times Entertainment, class action talk, the $789 travel example.
- ^ “YouTuber Tana Mongeau's Convention Was A Fyre Festival-Level Fiasco”. Nylon, June 27, 2018. The June 22–23 dates, the $1 and $65 tickets, the 6 to 8 a.m. arrival and 9 a.m. entry, no food or water, the Saturday cancellation, the apology and refund promise.
- ^ “Shane Dawson's TanaCon Probe Riveted The Internet. Here's What He Ultimately Found.”. Tubefilter, July 2, 2018. Dawson's three-part series and its views, the 1,000-guest hotel contract, 5,108 VIP tickets at $65 and about $325,000, Veeps holding the ticket money.
- ^ “YouTuber Apologises After Fan Convention Turns Into All-Time Clusterfuck”. Pedestrian.tv, June 26, 2018. TanaCon as an alternative to VidCon, Mongeau's disillusion with VidCon, VIP holders in the same line, Good Times' 15,000 figure, her plan to try again.