Participants in a festival organized by the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection are complaining of severe eye pain and vision problems. The lights used during a party would be at fault.
“ Does anyone else have sore eyes? I woke up at 3 a.m. because of severe pain, I had to go to the emergency room. » Feld4014 shared her story on X (ex-Twitter) on November 5, 2023, the day after a festival he had attended. It wasn’t just any party, but ApeFest, organized by the famous Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection. And, he wasn’t the only one to have eye problems: under his post, many people complained of pain, and explained that they had trouble seeing.
The situation is such that Yuga Labs, the company behind the collection, in turn published a message about to report the situation and warn other participants. “ We are aware of eye problems that have affected some ApeFest attendees “, she said. “ We believe that less than 1% of people who attended or worked at the event have these symptoms. » Yuga Labs also explains having “took the initiative to contact the people concerned since yesterday to try to find the cause of this problem “. However, it could well be that the company is the source of the problem.
Lights too bright
ApeFest was held in Hong Kong, November 3-5, 2023, and was reserved for owners of Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs — one of the most famous, and one of the most expensive, NFT collections. During the festival, meetings and discussions were organized, as well as a huge party, during which light rays and lasers were used. These are the same lasers that are believed to be responsible for the pain.
“ The doctor told me that the ultraviolet rays from the stage lights did it. They have the same effect as sunlight “, explains about an Internet user, who had to go to the hospital because of his pain. “ I woke up at 4 a.m. and couldn’t see anything. I was in a lot of pain and all my skin was burned. […] I still can’t see normally… »
Another participant, who also had to go to the hospital for the same reasons, was diagnosed with photokeratitis. This is an inflammation of the cornea caused by exposure of the eyes to ultraviolet rays, which particularly affects mountaineers who do not sufficiently protect their eyes from the reflections of light on the snow.
In the case of ApeFest participants, it would be the lights used on stage that would be at fault. As 404 Media notes, attendees at a festival held in 2017 reported similar symptoms, “ which were found to be caused by lighting emitting dangerous levels of UV – the type of UV typically used to disinfect surfaces, not to project directly onto people’s retinas “.
Fortunately, the symptoms of photokeratitis are usually not serious. For now, those of those affected have improved », Also specified Yuga Labs. The company has still not officially stated how the accident occurred.
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