No damp squib: revellers hoist anchor despite ‘danger’ warning

Revellers on the Regent's Canal. Photograph: Gabriel Gauffre.

There has been a large turnout by partygoers on the Regent’s Canal for an event organisers had warned could be “genuinely dangerous”.

The Canalival – a water-based shindig featuring dinghies, DJs and lots of fancy dress – was cancelled at the last minute on Thursday night and the Canal and River Trust said the combination of inadequate safeguards and free-flowing alcohol could be a “recipe for disaster”.

The event’s official Facebook page talked of “waterborne pathogens” and “concealed sharp objects” and said the numbers expected to attend the loosely-organised event had gotten out of hand – but hundreds of people heaved away in rafts, lilos and other craft in spite of the warnings.

The cancellation of the event was widely ridiculed on Facebook, where Alistair Tait wrote: “Why have you spent the last three months promoting the hell out of this event (which was almost at capacity last year with almost no promotion) only to pull it at the last minute??? Didn’t you see this problem coming?

“We all did. People have now spent lots of time and money getting ready for this and you have to imagine the vast majority are still going to turn up tomorrow.”

Other comments included “Sounds like Basil Fawlty organised this” and “Victims of your own success eh? Reminds me of the time I opened a match.com account and nearly crashed their server…”

According to the Spacehive crowdfunding website where over £3000 was pledged to stage the event, Canalival was organised by a group called Animal Control which also stages flashmobs.

Money pledged on Spacehive is expected to be refunded.