The Royal Parks charity has insisted an ‘Optimism Picnic’ planned by the co-founder of the economic campaign group Looking For Growth cannot go ahead in Hyde Park.
Now, the outlook for this picnic looks more pessimistic, on what is already set to be an overcast afternoon following a morning of intermittent heavy rain.
The slapdown from the parks organisation came in response to a post from an X user complaining about the “large and dangerous unofficial event”.
In the post, the individual said: “I was planning a quiet day out at Hyde Park with my two young children and this large and dangerous unofficial event is very concerning.
“Will your usually excellent rangers/police be on patrol to move on such gatherings?”
The official Royal Parks account responded: “The event organiser has been contacted informing them that no permission has been granted for this event to take place, they make alternative arrangements for their event & cease public advertising that implies it will take place in the Royal Parks.”
The Royal Parks account had not posted since April, and the bulk of its recent activity has been in replies to user complaints on the platform.
Supporter Shiv Malik said the park authority’s intervention was “another shot in the war on fun.”
He added: “Millions of young people say they are lonely. You try and hold an optimist picnic and there’s an instant crack-down.”
LFG even had a special picnic blanket prepared
Joe Reeve, a co-founder of Looking For Growth and the main organiser of this event, had said in a promotional post on the same platform that more than 1,000 “optimists” were planning to attend.
Reeve told City AM: “Since sharing my intent to gather optimists for a picnic, I’ve been blown away by the positive response with over 1k people registering. It turns out that, despite the doom and gloom, there are young Brits out there who believe in Britain’s future.”
He added: “I’ve responded to The Royal Parks directly, and am optimistic(!) that we’ll be able to find a way to accommodate the young people and families who stand for optimism and positivity.”
The LFG co-founder had commissioned a special “Optimism Picnic Blanket”, highlighting aspirational picnic snacks such as Whitstable oysters and Kent strawberries, with the event described as “Britain’s largest optimistic picnic of a generation”.
The picnic has been set to include a sports day, an ultimate frisbee competition, with provisions made for volunteers for both activities and litter picking at the end of the day.
Hyde Park has 350 acres, and is a mile and a half long. As it stands, it is unclear whether or not the event is still going ahead.
City AM has contacted The Royal Parks for comment.