Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) recently headlined Web3 news after reports of eye-related incidents during the annual ApeFest event. Attendees of the popular NFT-centric gathering have reported experiencing serious eye discomfort after the event.
Bored Ape Yacht Club and ApeFest backdrop
Known for its exclusive community of digital art collectors, Bored Ape Yacht Club is a highly sought-after group within the NFT space. This members-only club invites those who have invested in their unique collection of 10,000 computer-generated cartoon monkey NFTs. A key event on the community’s calendar is the annual ApeFest festival, held for these unique NFT investors known as ‘Bored Apes’.
Reported eye problems among visitors
However, the recent ApeFest held in Hong Kong last weekend did not go as smoothly as hoped. After the event, more than a dozen attendees took to social media and reported alarming symptoms, including eye burning, severe pain and vision loss. One of the attendees, Adrian Zduńczyk, attracted particular attention when he eventually sought urgent medical attention for his symptom, described as ‘severe eye burning’.
Zduńczyk was diagnosed during a visit to the hospital photokeratitis, also called snow blindness. This condition results from the unprotected exposure of the cornea and conjunctiva to ultraviolet radiation, which strongly suggests that the UV lighting used at ApeFest is the likely cause. Although Zduńczyk is now recovering with prescription steroid eye drops and eye lubricants, his ordeal has undoubtedly exposed a major flaw in the event’s planning.
The answer from the Bored Ape Yacht Club
In the aftermath, the Bored Ape Yacht Club went to Platform recognizing the incidents and their possible implications. The club’s statement read: “Apes, we are aware of the eye-related issues that have affected some ApeFest attendees and have been proactively contacting individuals since yesterday to try to identify possible causes.”
Although the company estimates that less than 1% of event attendees experienced symptoms, they still encouraged attendees to seek medical attention if they notice similar symptoms. With approximately 2,250 visitors to the event, this could still mean that there are several affected people.