Attendees of Hong Kong Bored Ape NFT conference report “severe eye burn”
ApeFest 2023 attendees woke up Monday morning to eye and skin pain that may have been caused by unprotected exposure to UV lights at the weekend-long event.
A Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT billboard in Times Square, 2022. Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images.
At least 15 attendees of ApeFest 2023 — a conference celebrating Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs, held this past weekend (November 3–5) in Hong Kong — have reported experiencing eye and skin pain following the event. The complaints began to roll in on X on Sunday, November 5, with festivalgoers citing symptoms consistent with unprotected exposure to UV light. Two attendees reported waking up in the middle of the night with extreme pain that landed them in the hospital.
I woke up at 04:00 and couldn’t see anymore. Had so much pain and my whole skin is burned. Needed to go to the hospital.
— Crypto June 💎🎯 (@CryptoJune777) November 5, 2023
The doctor told me the uv of the lightning of the stage did it. It has the same effect as sunlight.
Still can not see normally..
English-language Hong Kong paper The Standard posted an article on the reports at 4:15 p.m. local time on Monday (3:15 a.m. EST). A spokesperson for Yuga Labs, the Bored Ape Yacht Club’s creators, told the publication that the company was “aware of this situation and.. taking it seriously,” adding that they were “actively reaching out to those affected to better understand the root cause.”
Soon after the article’s publication, the official Bored Ape Yacht Club X account posted a statement on the issue. “Apes, we are aware of the eye-related issues that affected some of the attendees of ApeFest and have been proactively reaching out to individuals since yesterday to try and find the potential root causes,” the post reads. “Based on our estimates, we believe that much less than 1% of those attending and working the event had these symptoms.”
U.S. tech publications picked up the news later in the day on Monday. Speaking to The Verge, Yuga Labs’ Director of Public Relations, Emily Kitts, claimed that the number of ApeFest attendees experiencing symptoms was statistically small. “Based on our estimates, the 15 people we’ve been in direct communication with so far represent less than one percent of the approximately 2,250 event attendees and staff at our Saturday night event,” she said.
The Verge’s article goes on to note that attendees of a Hong Kong Hypebeast event in 2017 experienced similar symptoms — sunburn, intense eye pain, loss of vision — due to unprotected UV light exposure, citing the Hong Kong Free Press. One X user posted footage from ApeFest 2023, claiming onstage projections there had used UVC light, which has been tested for its disinfectant properties.
This is the ApeFest stage where UVC lighting damaged some people’s eyes pic.twitter.com/kO9TKZ6Xh0
— borovik.eth (@3orovik) November 6, 2023
Not all ApeFest attendees were dissatisfied, even among those experiencing troubling symptoms, as 404 Media later reported. “Thanks for great apefest logistiscs guys @yugalabs & @BoredApeYC. Incredible event and met plenty of amazing people,” Polish crypto entrepreneur Adrian Zduńczyk wrote to his 650,000 followers on X. “Still, as dozens of others, I’ve almost lost sight this night.”
Update, November 8, 8 p.m. EST: When reached for comment, Emily Kitts sent The FADER the following statement on behalf of Yuga Labs:
Yuga Labs is aware that some attendees are reporting eye pain, vision issues, or skin irritation after attending ApeFest.
We are distressed by these reports, as nothing is more important to us than the health and safety of our community, many of whom we spent significant facetime with over the weekend.
We suggest that anyone experiencing symptoms seek medical attention. Right now, we are continuing investigating alongside our ApeFest vendors and contractors to identify the potential source(s) of these issues. At this point we’re looking into fluorescent paint in one of our setup areas, and most definitely looking at UV light. We will provide updates as we can.
Any impacted attendees are encouraged to reach out to us via social media DMs and share information about their experience and symptoms to assist our investigation.
We are grateful for our community’s patience and cooperation, and continued good spirits about ApeFest 2023.