An event at Waterstones’ flagship Piccadilly store descended into chaos as attendees faced overcrowding and mass confusion.
Some at the bookshop’s BookFest 2025 said the conditions were “dangerous” and that the event devolved into “hell on earth”.
Waterstones apologised to customers after a raft of complaints about the event, adding that it would learn from mistakes made.
However, the company denied that the safety of those attending was at risk.
BookFest was offered as a chance for readers to meet authors, visit publisher stalls and pick up “exclusive merch giveaways” at the Piccadilly store.
Although some activities at the festival were ticketed, the event itself was free to attend.
BookFest is open at @WaterstonesPicc and the enthusiasm of young (and old) readers is something to behold. We have activity over 3 floors currently with authors signing and publishers sharing proofs and merch. It’s going to be quite some day!! 📚 https://t.co/WIT9kUmZ9e pic.twitter.com/q1p6jF9uaV
— Waterstones (@Waterstones) August 6, 2025
After the event began on Wednesday, many customers reported overcrowding and mismanagement, citing a lack of signs or clear direction.
One attending said: “Bookfest was so... SO badly organised... there were no clear lines, there was barging and arguments, none of the staff knew anything so we had to find things out from people scouting ahead who also had no idea what was going on, it was horrific!!!!!”
Another said: “It was absolutely hell on earth. An author had a panic attack and left. The accessibility and health and safety were non existent and people left in tears.”
One customer at the event claimed: “Over 2k people interacted with the BookFest announcement so you should have been prepared for that level of BF attendees at least. There were no signs, no planning, nothing.”
Another added: “Bookfest 2025 was an ABSOLUTE joke yesterday. The chaos was next level, it was so disorganised, crowded, it was dangerous. I feel bad for all the authors and publishers that were there. There's no way that was safe.”
Responding to the fallout from the event, a spokesperson for Waterstones told the Standard: “BookFest has always been a fun and very busy event, but this year an unexpectedly high turnout led to very long queues and some crowding around publisher tables and author signings.
“It is of course wonderful that the event attracted such large crowds of passionate fans and, although we had not fully anticipated these unprecedented numbers, the safety of attendees was our top priority, as always.
“Staff were available throughout the floors and in case of emergencies, we would have been able to swiftly evacuate the shop using our fully rehearsed emergency procedures.
“This notwithstanding, we fully appreciate that this was an unusually busy event, and we are deeply sorry to hear customer reports of negative experiences at BookFest this year.
“We will be taking all feedback into a full review of the event, so we can learn from this year to implement the kind of joyful and fun event that our customers expect.”
