‘I spent all day trying to get in’: Up to 5-hour wait to enter Mercury Festival, online queue closed early
Attendees of the popular small business fair, Mercury Festival, are up in arms after multiple issues with the event’s online queue system and excessive wait times of up to five hours.
The three-day event, held at Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre from June 5 to 7, drew overwhelming crowds, prompting organisers to repeatedly tweak their virtual queue system and even close it early.
According to an Instagram post by organisers, this edition of Mercury Festival was twice the size of its previous run.
‘Crazy crowd’ forces early queue closure
This edition of the festival relied on a virtual queue system, with attendees required to scan a QR code on-site, enter their name and phone number, before receiving a queue number.
Following critical feedback on queue management on the first day, organisers apologised in a Telegram announcement at 1.16pm on June 6.
“Due to unforeseen circumstances, we had to close the virtual queue early, as we truly could not foresee the crazy crowd so early on,” they said.
They added that queue numbers were released in batches to prevent overcrowding within the venue.
At 4.22pm on June 6, organisers announced that there were 9,300 people in the queue and estimated waiting times exceeded four hours.
More than an hour later, at 5.37pm, there were still at least 8,000 people waiting despite the event ending at 8.30pm.
Organisers cautioned that admission was not guaranteed and that the queue would be closed when there were too many visitors inside the venue or waiting to enter.
Glitches and long waits frustrate attendees
Before doors opened on June 7 — the final day of the festival — organisers announced a system glitch at 11.11am, though the issue was resolved about 15 minutes later.
Organisers capped the final queue ticket number at 4,700. “Any ticket number after 4700 will be denied entry into the venue,” Mercury Festival wrote on its Telegram channel. In addition, organisers stated the virtual queue would be closed early if necessary.
By 1.51pm, organisers announced that queue registration had been suspended while they worked to clear the existing crowd.
“There are no promises that it will reopen but we are trying our best to clear as much as we can,” organisers said.
Online, many attendees expressed frustration with the experience.
One disgruntled attendee commented on Mercury Festival’s post regarding its queue system, “Joined the queue at 1 and only entered at 5.
“Even though the QR code told me to go standby, still need to squeeze with everyone outside.”
The attendee also questioned whether the system was vulnerable to misuse, alleging that screenshots of queue numbers could potentially be shared with others.
Another visitor said she spent the entire day waiting, only to receive a notification that their number was being called at 7.55pm — when she had already given up and gone home.
“I am quite disappointed as I spent all day trying to get in and waiting around but eventually had no choice but to head home,” they wrote.
Some acknowledged that the virtual queue system was “a good idea in theory” but said the lack of clear waiting-time estimates and unrestricted time spent inside the venue led to delays.
“It took two to three hours for my queue to be called,” one Instagram user wrote, though other comments indicate that many attendees waited between four to five hours too.
‘War zone’
Videos posted online showed long queues and large crowds gathered around the venue.
TikTok user @zilliediaries described the situation as a “war zone”.
Another user @groceryham, who had shared the queue link online, later said organisers requested that she remove it because people were allegedly joining the queue despite having no intention of attending the event.
The TikToker said she did not blame organisers and believed the turnout had simply exceeded expectations.
According to Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hall 406 — where the festival is held — can accommodate between 556 and 1,280 people, depending on the event setup and format.
Stomp has reached out to Mercury Festival for comment.
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