…while cake picnic editions in London and New York were calm and festive, the Lagos debut was marred by disorder.
LAGOS, NIGERIA – The iNews Times | What was meant to be Lagos’ first taste of the globally popular Cake Picnic Festival quickly degenerated into a chaotic spectacle, as guests abandoned decorum, crushing and hoarding cakes with their bare hands in scenes now dominating social media.
The Cake Picnic, founded by London-based UX designer Elisa Sunga, is an annual global event where attendees bring cakes, spread blankets in a park, and share slices in an orderly manner. The only standing rule is “no cake, no entry,” with guests expected to serve themselves using provided utensils after an initial photo session.
While editions in cities such as London and New York have remained calm and festive, the Lagos debut on Saturday was marred by disorder. Viral videos showed participants shoving and grabbing, reducing the event to what many online users have dubbed a “royal rumble.”
Critics have accused the organisers of breaching the festival’s cardinal rule by allowing entry to people who arrived without cakes in exchange for payment. “Why did you receive money from those without cake? That’s greed. If it’s a cake picnic, let it be that simple,” Instagram user Miz_Shona wrote.
Popular food critic Opeyemi Famakin, whose video of the London edition inspired interest in a Nigerian version, distanced himself from the Lagos event.
He said brands had offered nearly ₦20 million to have him organise it, but he declined. “Money is not my driving force… other countries did theirs smoothly. When it got to Nigeria, you spoilt it. Is it Tinubu’s fault? The average Nigerian is a bad person,” he said.
Some Nigerians attributed the chaos to what they called a “scarcity mindset.” Instagram user grilledttt.bymaamah argued, “The average Nigerian struggles to process abundance… our first instinct is to grab plenty and hoard more than we need.”
The organisers have since issued an apology via Instagram, admitting to poor planning. “Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned. We take full responsibility for the shortcomings… we promise to learn from this and do better next time,” they wrote.
Sunga, who recently hosted her seventh Cake Picnic in London’s Greenwich Park with 463 cakes and over 30,000 sign-ups, described her original vision as an intimate gathering of friends introducing themselves and their cakes. By contrast, videos from a smaller Abuja edition earlier this year showed a more faithful execution of that dream.
For Lagos, however, the debut ended far from sweet.
