Crowds pack London’s Columbia Road for Christmas carols forcing cancellation of event

Huge crowds packed onto London’s Columbia Road for the weekly Christmas carols on Wednesday, 6 December, forcing organisers to cancel the much-loved event for the rest of the year.

Footage filmed by TikTok user @nellymclean shows scores of people packing onto the road last week for the sing-along organised by St Peter’s Church in Bethnal Green.

“Social media ruined Wednesday night Christmas carols,” she said.

In a statement, the church said: “The crowds of over 7,000 present last week were of such volume on the road that there was a danger to public safety.

“This decision is in support of our community which had become dangerously overrun.”