A Metaverse ‘party’ hosted by the EU failed to impress after only six people attended the event (Picture: Vince Chadwick/Twitter)
A plan by the European Union to hold a ‘virtual party’ for young people in Facebook’s much-vaunted Metaverse fell completely flat after just six people turned up.
The EU Commission’s foreign aid department spent £332,000 on the virtual event, which officials hoped would act as a ‘global gateway’ to get young people interested in the bloc’s policy announcements with a night of ‘music and fun’ .
‘Are you ready to party?’ asked the invitation to the event on Tuesday night, which garnered a pitiful 44 likes despite the bloc boasting over 500k followers across Facebook and Twitter.
The event, which featured its own virtual DJs playing techno music on repeat, was aimed at targeting ‘non politically engaged 18-35 year olds’ who are active on TikTok and Instagram in an attempt to ‘increase awareness of what the EU does on the world stage’.
Despite the worryingly low interest levels, the event itself still managed to vastly underperform, attracting just six people in total who seemingly couldn’t wait to get out of there fast enough.
‘I’m here at the “gala” concert in the EU foreign aid dept’s €387k metaverse,’ wrote Vince Chadwick, reporter for Devex, a website which provides news for the development and NGO sector.
‘After initial bemused chats with the roughly five other humans who showed up, I am alone.’
When asked on Twitter about what exactly happens at a metaverse party, Chadwick responded: ‘Derrick and Pilar made small talk. Nik and I compared notes. Then we all went home.’
Following the flop, officials from the EU’s External Action Service now face a grilling from diplomats on their ‘communication strategy’ during a private meeting at Brussels next week.
According to Devex, a source from within the European Commission called the metaverse party ‘digital garbage,’ with another claiming the event was ‘depressing and embarrassing.’
‘It’s a travesty that an EU institution feels the need to throw hundreds of thousands of euros behind this nonsense,’ said Jacob Kirkegaard of EU think tank the German Marshall Fund.
‘Anyone with a brain knows the metaverse is a dud,’ he told the Telegraph.
The EU metaverse was set up by the Commission’s foreign aid department as part of its ‘Global Gateway’ initiative, Devex reported.
Under this umbrella the Commission aims to fork out €300 billion by 2027 to build new infrastructure in developing countries, in what is seen by experts as an attempt to counter Chinese investment in infrastructure projects across Africa, Asia and Latin America.
‘Beijing must be wetting themselves with laughter,’ one EU diplomat told The Times. ‘It would be funny if it was not a serious project, and if we had not paid for it all.’
‘There is a massive drought in East Africa, the UN doesn’t have enough funds for food for refugees in camps, etc etc and THIS is what you choose to spend money on?,’ tweeted Birgit Habermann, a scientist and ecologist following its initial announcement in October.
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The event was part of a £300 billion endeavour intended to promote the EU to young people and citizens in developing nations.
