Open Facebook invitation to party… Chaos ensues

Callum Tilbury and Hayden Hall couldn’t plead ignorance regarding their out-of-control party last weekend that saw over 500 people turn up after an open invitation was posted on social media.

It’s happened before, famously. And popular movie Project X even told the tale of what happens when you send bulk invites and open your house up to pretty much anybody.

And if you watched Project X, you’ll remember it didn’t turn out so well.

And neither did Tilbury or Halls’ party in Hamilton, New Zealand, which ended up in 14 arrests and 1 injury after the party had to be closed by police riot squads at around 11.30pm when 500 guests, many of whom the hosts did not know, all showed up.

The surplus of guests caused the party to end up on the street, and much of the chaos is being blamed on an open invitation posted on Facebook by one of the guests.

Whilst the party didn’t quite reach the utter chaos as portrayed in Project X, it still proved quite the disturbance and police are saying the entire incident was completely “avoidable”.

Which is true. Social media is a powerful tool and unless you want to spend the next few weeks cleaning up your neighbours driveways after the “party of the century” then you need to understand that open invitations on social media are a massive NO-NO, and you need to make sure all of your guests understand that too.

Whilst Facebook’s Event facility is a great way of organising parties, it is always important to keep the event closed so only you or trusted friends can invite attendees. Closed events means strangers cannot access the parties details, meaning they won’t end up on your doorstep.

Worth remembering and passing on to your party-inclined Facebook friends!