Thousands fall for fake halloween parade in Dublin

Event was listed on a Pakistani website

In an unexpected Halloween mishap, thousands of Dubliners found themselves at a non-existent Halloween parade this year, courtesy of a misleading online event listing. The website, My Spirit Halloween—operating out of Pakistan—had advertised a Macnas Halloween Parade, promising Dublin locals a costume-filled spectacle from 7pm to 9pm, according to Vice.

Excited partygoers flooded O'Connell Street, only to find no parade in sight. The confusion quickly led to crowded streets and sidewalks, disrupting traffic and eventually calling for a police response. Dublin's Gardaí, the national police force, were dispatched to manage the swelling crowd and urged people to disperse.

One observer caught the scene on TikTok and described the police's efforts to control the streets to The Independent. They noted, "Gardaí were trying to clear the street," also mentioning that a Diwali celebration had drawn an even larger crowd to the city.

In response to the confusion, Gardaí issued an alert on X (formerly Twitter), urging those gathered to leave the area safely. "Please be advised that contrary to information being circulated online, no Halloween parade is scheduled to take place in Dublin city centre this evening or tonight," a Gardaí spokesperson announced.

Speaking to The Irish Times, the man behind the website, who identified himself as Nazir Ali, said that it was not his or his business's intention to mislead people. "It was our fault; we should have confirmed it before publishing," he stated. "However, claims that we intentionally posted false information are completely inaccurate."

Ali further emphasised that his site has accurately reported numerous events in Ireland, including many St Patrick's Day festivities, and has never faced similar issues before. Ali also stated that he had no advance knowledge of the parade's cancellation. "Had we been informed earlier; we would have taken it down. No one reached out to us," he added. "We feel deeply embarrassed and sincerely regret this incident," he reiterated.