Willy Wonka experience Glasgow: Props from botched event raise over £2k at auction for Palestine aid charity

The immersive Willy Wonka experience in Glasgow made global headlines, with children being left in tears and parents demanding refunds after they turned up to “an abandoned, empty warehouse”

Props from the viral Willy Wonka event in Glasgow have raised more than £2,000 at auction for a Palestinian aid charity.

The backdrops from the botched event, which was pulled after frustrated attendees called the police, were found in a bin. Monorail record store in Glasgow auctioned them on eBay after they were passed on by the finder.

Monorail online manager Michael Kasparis said they were bought by musician Ben Howard.

The backdrop from the viral Willy Wonka event in Glasgow, which has raised more than £2,000 at auction for a Palestinian aid charity. Picture: Monorail/PA Wire

He said: “We are all watching it like you’d watch the end of a football game. It was £900 and then jumped to £1,050, then one second before it closed it was £2,050 and it came through at £2,250.

“We’d thought if it goes into four figures we’d be very happy so it was a pretty amazing result.”

He said the buyer of the backdrops was not from Glasgow, but lives elsewhere in the UK. “I was slightly worried that the joke had gone, but it doesn’t look like it’s going away any time soon,” he said.

The money raised is being donated to Medical Aid for Palestinians to help provide medical services in Gaza.

Part of the backdrop from the viral Willy Wonka event in Glasgow, which has raised more than £2,000 at auction for a Palestinian aid charity. Picture: Monorail/PA Wire

Mr Kasparis said: “I personally was a little bit worried that the auction was a bit silly for the cause but we thought if it raises money that’s the most important thing.

“It’s a charity we’ve all donated to and that we all care deeply about and it was kind of a no-brainer when we thought to auction it for charity.”

The Wonka event gained viral notoriety after images of the sparsely decorated warehouse in Glasgow staffed by actors dressed as Oompa Loompas and other characters spread worldwide.