Attendees of Yuga Labs’ ApeFest Event Report Eye-Related Issues; Yuga Labs Investigating Cause

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Attendees of the Yuga Labs ApeFest event in Hong Kong have reported suffering burns, eye damage, and extreme pain in their eyes after attending the event.

The attendees at the Yuga Labs ApeFest event in Hong Kong on November 4 suffered eye burns, impaired eyesight, and acute pain, which they believe came from the use of inappropriate lighting, particularly the use of UV lights on the stage.

The Hong Kong event grabbed most of the headlines and attention of the crypto community on X over the weekend.

One attendee shared their experience on Twitter (X), explaining that they woke up in the middle of the night after ApeFest with excruciating eye pain. According to a doctor, the pain was caused by exposure to UV radiation from the stage lights. This individual, who frequently attends festivals, had never encountered such issues before.

Woke up in the middle of the night after Apefest with so much pain in my eyes that I had to go to the hospital. I've seen several tweets about it

Doctor told me it was due to the UV from stage lights. I go to festivals often but have never experienced this

I try to understand…

— Crypto June (@CryptoJune777) November 5, 2023

Another ApeFest guest reported similar symptoms, including severe eye pain, and ended up in the emergency room.

Some other individuals reported being diagnosed with Photokeratitis, also known as “welder’s eye,” a condition caused by unprotected exposure to ultraviolet radiation. There were speculations that the injuries resulted from improper lighting used at the event.

Many tweets suggested that the symptoms experienced by attendees were consistent with Photokeratitis. Photokeratitis is similar to getting a sunburn on the corneas of your eyes due to excessive exposure to UV rays.

One attendee pointed out that many of those reporting eye issues had been close to the lighting display on the event’s main stage. This proximity to intense lighting likely contributed to their eye problems.

Many users came up with different theories behind eye injuries, with one pointing to a similar instance six years ago during a party organized by streetwear brand HypeBeast in Hong Kong.

At the event, third-party contractors were reported to have installed disinfecting ultraviolet (UV) instead of stage lights, leading to similar eye injuries, burning, blindness, and Photokeratitis.

re: bored apes with eye injuries from apefest

6 years ago in Hong Kong, hypebeast had a party, 3rd party contractors installed disinfecting UV lights, instead of stage lights, & people had similar eye injuries, burning, blindness, photokeratitis

it's possible this happened pic.twitter.com/ofMUncwya8

— CryptoFinally (@CryptoFinally) November 5, 2023

ApeFest took place from November 3 to 5 in Hong Kong and was organized by Yuga Labs. The event aimed to bring together members of the Bored Ape Yacht Club community and other NFT enthusiasts for an “epic, unhinged family reunion” over three days.

Attendees Criticize Yuga Labs for Overlooking Basic Medical Hazards and Potential Risks

Some attendees criticized the event organizers for what they saw as a lack of attention to basic medical hazards.

They said that they should have paid more attention to basic medical hazards and that they overlooked the potential risks associated with the lighting used at the event.

They also pointed out that safety precautions, especially regarding UV lighting, should have been a priority, especially for an event with a large number of attendees.

Concerns were raised about attendees who may now face medical bills due to the eye-related issues they experienced at the event, with some mentioning that they had taken out loans to attend.

Bored Ape Yacht Club Investigates Reports of Eye-Related Issues at Recent Event

Yuga Labs has acknowledged the reports of potential eye-related issues among attendees and is taking the matter seriously. A spokesperson for Yuga Labs stated that they are actively reaching out to and communicating with those affected.

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. Based on our estimates, we believe that much less than 1% of those…

— Bored Ape Yacht Club (@BoredApeYC) November 6, 2023

They also stated that they are investigating various possibilities to determine the root cause of the issues.

According to Yuga Labs, the number of affected individuals represents less than 1% of the approximately 2,250 event attendees and staff who attended the Saturday night event.

Furthermore, most of the affected attendees are reportedly showing signs of improvement in their eye conditions over time.

However, some others have pointed out that the effects of the UV lights could last from a couple of hours to a few days, depending on the exposure.

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