Organisers of a dance party marking the anniversary of Super Typhoon Haiyan’s rampage through the central Philippines called the event off after a raft of complaints.
The event, scheduled for Friday in Tacloban, the area most devastated by Haiyan, was supposed to be a celebration of the city’s recovery and the resilience of its residents, said lead organiser Calai Cinco.
“We’ve already cancelled it. We’ve had some complaints. There were a lot of negative vibes on the Facebook page,” she said.
She said the event, with the slogan: “Party like it never happened: remember because it did”, was intended to raise money for victims of the storm.
But some observers thought the party, as well as accompanying T-shirts being sold, made light of the tragedy on November 8 last year, when Haiyan sent huge storm surges deep inland, leaving 7,350 dead or missing and leaving millions more to survive in the ruins of their washed out homes.