The new Willy Wonka Experience? Basingstoke Comic Con descends into 's**tshow' as fans queue for 12 HOURS in sweltering heat for £175 autographs from Aquaman Jason Momoa, staff are attacked and other workers fail to turn up
The organisers of a disastrous comic con event starring Hollywood star Jason Momoa have apologised to fans who complained it was a 's***show' - drawing comparisons with the disastrous Willy Wonka Experience.
Hype for Basingstoke Comic Con was at fever pitch following news of the star's attendance alongside Hobbit actor Richard Armitage, Stargate's Richard Dean Anderson and actor and comedian Rhys Darby.
But the event, which ran from Friday May 11 to Sunday May 13, came apart at the seams amid claims it had been oversold - with queues spilling out of the Hampshire Court Hotel in 25C heat and a lack of air-con to placate sweaty cosplayers.
Momoa's attendance was also cut to just one day after he was previously touted as a weekend headliner. Organisers denied that they purposefully 'messed up his flight' so he could not attend for the full two days.
They added a lack of staff contributed to a 'perfect storm of problems' that led to the event going wrong - and are now offering refunds as fans slammed it as a 'disaster'.
Angry attendees took to social media to accuse promoters of overselling the event to make money.
Fans had to queue up outside the Hampshire Court Hotel for Basingstoke Comic Con in 25C heat, leading to accusations that organisers oversold the event
A cosplayer strikes a pose as the comic book character Kick-Ass inside Basingstoke Comic Con
A cosplayer smiles as poses for a photograph at the event - but behind the scenes things were going wrong with a lack of staff and long queues
Jason Momoa was the headline star of the show on Saturday - but had originally meant to attend for two days. Fans claimed organisers deliberately 'messed up his flight'
Spot the difference: the Basingstoke Comic Con website listing for Jason Momoa in April (left) and now (right)
The event also featured Richard Armitage, best known in fantasy circles for his role in The Hobbit trilogy as dwarf king Thorin Oakenshield
The event comes after Glasgow's disastrous Willy Wonka Experience which over-promised and under-delivered (pictured: actress Kirsty Paterson at the underwhelming event in February)
But the organisers - who admitted they'd had to sack two members of staff working at the event - have defended their decisions and said they are 'heartbroken'.
A dispute also arose between Game Of Thrones and Aquaman star Momoa, 44, and the management, who defended allegations that they purposely 'messed up his flight' so he could not attend for the full two days.
He was reported to have told fans his attendance was cut to one day - and the event website was amended at some point before the event to reduce his attendance to the Saturday alone.
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Stargate actor Richard Dean Anderson turned out to be a 'slow signer' of autographs, they said - and he stayed until the early hours of the event so he could sign autographs which fans paid £60 for.
But despite promising an 'AMAZING-Stoke Weekend' - fans branded the two-day event a 'disaster'.
On the social news forum Reddit, one attendee said said there were 'no signs' and 'a crush risk at times in the queue'.
The user wrote: 'No aircon, on a blistering sunny weekend. There were a few people taken out to ambulances. The very first thing some actors said coming on stage was 'Stay hydrated'.
'Seemingly no cap on autographs, so [Stargate star] Richard Dean Anderson was there until 12am Saturday and 1am Sunday to get everything signed.'
They continued: 'A huge conflict in time where people were in line for autographs so long they missed stage events and photos.
'Management left long before the event was over. A handful of volunteers stayed until 1am.'
In response, one user said: 'It was such a s***show.
'The actors were lovely, despite being subjected to the same unpleasant conditions and disorganisation, and clearly not having a great time of it.
'The organisers apparently cut loads of staff for the Saturday, telling them not to show up, despite there being a chronic lack of organisation and communication.
'I really hope this doesn't put the guests off coming to these more regional events, though I wouldn't blame them for never, ever coming to an event organised by this team again.'
According to the event's website, an autograph from Momoa - who allegedly told fans the management shortened his attendance to one day - cost fans £175 and a meet and greet was priced at £399.
Some paid up to £1,000 for VIP packages at the event.
In light of the complaints, organiser Jane Lowther published a statement on social media and the convention's website apologising to attendees.
Organisers posted a grovelling apology on the convention's website after the disastrous weekend
A trio of Daleks from Doctor Who at the Basingstoke Comic Con. Unfortunately, organisers could not exterminate the issues that plagued the weekend
Fans turned up in cosplay as their favourite characters for the event - only to face huge queues
Fans of Stargate turned up as their favourite characters - and spent hours queueing for autographs from star Richard Dean Anderson
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She said the events senior team spent 10 months organising the comic con and they were 'heartbroken' by what has happened.
Ms Lowther continued: 'We were hit by the perfect storm of problems that led to an event causing people to feel let down.
'It also left two members of staff physically attacked, some physically threatened, and almost all verbally abused.
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'We truly apologise to everyone, whether a customer or staff member, who came away from the weekend unhappy.'
The organiser said she has heard the problems 'loud and clear' and blamed the issues on 'unexpectedly' losing 35 per cent of their paid staff who 'just simply didn't turn up'.
She said: 'We know people queued for hours and were hot and squashed and we are so deeply sorry.
'It was absolutely not the plan and devastating for us.
'The very last thing we wished to see is people who have looked forward to an event, saved for it and travelled long distances not having an enjoyable time.
'We are also aware the queue sizes led to far from ideal accessibility, something we take seriously.'
Ms Lowther said by the Sunday, they had 'so few staff' that they were 'very limited in what else we could put in place'.
She continued: 'Please do not feel like we are blaming anyone here, I understand why.
'Losing the ability to communicate with attendees and each other made things incredibly challenging as it meant we were unable to respond quickly to issues as they happened.'
Addressing the heat over the weekend, the statement added: 'We watched the forecast, and we planned for warm weather and some rain.
'What we didn't expect was for it to be 25C plus.
'I am aware that people were complaining that we didn't provide water until later in the day and the simple explanation was, we didn't have any.
'The hotel was unable to provide us with any, so we went out to buy bottled water and also tried to fill the gaps with jugs of water.
'We went out and brought fans and tried to think of every way we could to improve things for people with the event space we had available.'
Ms Lowther claimed two members of staff were sacked: one for 'behaving improperly with guests' and the other for allegedly stealing items and getting photos and autographs for himself when he should have been working.
She claimed the second person was now 'spreading lies and information' about the event on social media, and vowed to take 'action' against him.
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Comic book fans turn up as Marvel heroes Captain Carter, Rogue and Wolverine - but attendees say nothing could be done to save the event from disaster
Basingstoke Comic Con attendees as Batman characters Harley Quinn and Joker - but the event was no laughing matter for those who queued for 12 hours for autographs
Stars of HBO pirate comedy Our Flag Means Death (left to right) Vico Ortiz, Con O'Neill and Kristian Nairn held a panel
She added that Richard Dean Anderson - also known as inventive TV secret agent MacGyver - was a 'slow signer' who took as much as five minutes at a time to speak to fans as he signed autographs.
As a result, it took him hours to get through the queue, reportedly staying until the wee hours. Organisers said he did this voluntarily.
Ms Lowther added: 'Regarding Jason Momoa, we have read a number of comments left by people saying Jason said that we changed his attendance to one day and also that we messed up his flight so he couldn't stay two days.
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'This is completely untrue; we would have loved Jason to attend two days.
'Also, if other actors made negative comments regarding the event, none of them came to me and wished that they had, so I would have been able to address it directly.'
Ms Lowther defended speculation that they oversold the event and said this was 'incorrect'.
The statement finishes: 'We are deeply sorry that people didn't get the experience they deserved.'
But attendees have continued to hit-out at the organisers after hearing their apology.
On Facebook, Lilly Lonergan wrote: 'You can't address issues when the convention is over. The whole thing was appallingly organised.
'Richard Dean Anderson stayed till 10.30pm signing autos on the Saturday then 1am last night.
'Absolutely disgusting to have an actor have to do that to get through the lines.
'You oversold tickets to make money. That's all you cared about. Even with the excessive queues still on Sunday you continued to sell tickets for photos and autos etc.
'You don't care about the people at all. There was a pregnant lady in the queue with me waiting for two hours at that point in that boiling hall with no air con.
'And staff wouldn't allow her to get through. We told the staff and they just had no clue how to deal.'
The statement said attendees can now request refunds.