Hell at the World Scout Jamboree: British children are evacuated to hotels after 600 youngsters were struck down by heatwave at festival as leader slams organisers amid claims of food shortages and complaints being censored
- Around 43,000 people from 158 countries – including 4,500 Brits – took part
- It comes as temperatures in some parts of South Korea topped 38C this week
British children attending the World Scout Jamboree in South Korea have been evacuated to hotels after 600 youngsters were struck down by a heatwave at the festival.
The event being held at the SaeManGeum site near Buan coincides with the highest heat warning by the government in four years, as temperatures in some parts of South Korea topped 38C this week.
One scout leader has slammed the organisers, claiming that there were food shortages at the site and complaints were being censored.
The UK Scout Association, which is the largest contingent there, said young people and adult volunteers will be moved to hotel accommodation in the country’s capital Seoul over the next two days to help ‘alleviate the pressure’ on the site.
It said in a statement: ‘We know that may be a disappointment for some and we will continue the Jamboree experience in Seoul, working with Korean authorities on a programme of activities so our young people still get the most from their time in Korea.
More than 600 participants at the 25th World Scout Jamboree have been struck down by a heatwave in South Korea
Pictures shared with MailOnline show how tents have been raised onto platforms due to flooding
An ambulance drives to a hospital from a scout camping site during the World Scout Jamboree
‘Young people will travel home as originally planned from August 13.
‘While we have been on site at the Jamboree, the UK volunteer team has worked extremely hard with the organisers, for our youth members and adult volunteers to have enough food and water to sustain them, shelter from the unusually hot weather, and toilets and washing facilities appropriate for an event of this scale.’
Around 43,000 people from 158 countries – including 4,500 Brits – have been taking part in the World Scout Jamboree – known as the world’s largest youth camp.
At least 108 people have been treated for heat-related illnesses, most of whom have recovered, it was reported on Thursday.
Among those in attendance is adventurer Bear Grylls – the UK’s Chief Scout since 2009 – who called for people to remain calm.
While some parents insisted their children are still having a good time, others have told how it is is ‘alarming how quickly order broke down’ and that their children feel like ‘they are going to die’.
It comes after a scout leader blasted the organisation of the World Scout Jamboree, claiming a food shortage left children having a dessert for lunch while complaints were being censored.
The man, who wished to remain anonymous, told MailOnline that he was originally planning to attend – and while he’s glad he is not experiencing the ‘nightmare’ that those in South Korea’s North Jeolla province are facing, he wishes he could help.
The former jamboree leader also accused the UK contingent leaders of telling staff not to share any images of anything bad going on – something he described as ‘diabolical’.
The former world jamboree leader said that people who he knows over there ‘have had an absolute nightmare’.
He added: ‘They haven’t had enough hospital facilities for the amount of young people. They’ve had to get get more doctors in. They have had to put more medical tents up.’
The source continued: ‘It shouldn’t have got to the point of 600 young people collapsing in one evening for the president to turn around and say we will get you more vehicles.
A female participant sits on the floor as scouts queue to get into a souvenir shop amid the blistering heat
Other pictures show fumigation trucks trying to clear mosquitoes. Parents have described their children being stuck in mosquito-infested fields
Adventurer and TV presenter Bear Grylls, who is at the World Scout Jamboree, called for people to remain calm
‘It should have been pre-empted especially with the heatwave they’ve got. I was going to go but decided not to go. In some ways, I’m glad I did but in other ways, I wish I was there to help.’
The source also said that ‘there’s not enough food and water’, adding: ‘Lunch for most of them is a sweet of some sort, nothing savoury. The food options have been really bad. It’s all been sweet options… none of them can read the packaging, if you have food allergies, that’s sort of thrown out the window.’
He went on to blast this year’s ‘upsetting’ scenes, contrasting it to his own experience as a leader in America four years ago where there was ‘more cover, more water, more food, more everything’.
‘I think it’s the disorganisation, the lack of communication and the masking of images and details going out,’ he added.
‘The UK contingent has asked leaders and international service teams not to post pictures reflecting bad what’s going on. That to me is diabolical. It’s the public-facing ‘look how brilliant it is’, and privately, it’s ‘look how c**p it is’.’
In a bid to calm things down, Grylls posted a clip of his rousing speech at the opening ceremony on Instagram with the caption: ‘It’s super hot in Korea. To all @Scouts there, remember the mantra: Shade & hydrate act early if struggling buddy buddy always.’
Grylls became the UK’s youngest ever chief scout when he was appointed at the age of 34. He described it as ‘one of the proudest moments of my life’. In 2018, Grylls also became the first ever Chief Ambassador of World Scouting – which involves promoting scouts to an international audience.
Despite Grylls’ call for calmness, when an emergency alert was sent out on the jamboree’s app, parents could not help but panic. One British parent told The Telegraph: ‘We now have kids crying, thinking they are going to die.’
Parents also complained that their children, who are all aged 14 to 17, were stuck outside in the early hours of the morning in a ‘mosquito-infested field’ with no tents, dirty toilets and limited food.
One father told MailOnline that his 15-year-old son has ‘had an awful time’, adding: ‘It’s alarming how quickly order has broken down.’ He described it as being reminiscent of the Woodstock Festival of 1999 – where festival-goers had little shade and limited water. The unbearable heat, exhaustion and dehydration left people seriously ill.
He also brought up that the ‘only food on offer is highly processed sweet food’. Referencing William Goulding’s novel about a group of boys who try to govern themselves after get stranded on an island together, he added: ‘The older children have been given it in bulk with instructions to distribute, but predictably a sort of Lord of the Flies tuck shop scenario has developed.
‘The organisers have certainly not been prepared for this – [Robert] Baden-Powell [scouts founder] must be turning in his grave!’
Grylls took to Instagram to tell scouts to ‘remember the mantra’ and find shade and hydrate
British parents have complained their children have been abandoned in a mosquito-infested field
Participants are seen attempting to take shelter from sun at the camping site in Buan, South Korea
A source told this newspaper that there was not enough shade at the South Korea site so the UK contingent ‘had to go off site and buy poles and shading material’ to give the British scouts more shade.
Images have been shared to this newspaper of tents on pallets, floating above the flooded land – while fumigation trucks were seen trying to fend off mosquitoes.
He continued: ‘This is the first time I’ve seen this at a jamboree. The international service team arrived a few days before and walked into the marshlands.
‘The jamboree site is on a reclaimed marsh but they haven’t reclaimed it well it’s floating. They’ve got tents floating. There’s not enough there even with pallets to keep dry.
‘The fumigation trucks are pumping chemicals all over tents and where people are all day.’
It comes after this year’s event has faced criticism over a lack of shelter or water amid the major heatwave. Local media outlets have described the situation as a ‘national disgrace’, given the time the country had to prepare for the event.
SBS News reports that the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, which prepared the festival, were allocated more than £120million (₩200 billion KRW) but many are wondering where the money went. Poor drainage has left huge puddles and swarms of bugs, while many have fumed at unhygienic conditions at the camping sites – and there was mould found in eggs provided to attendees, according to local media.
Local authorities and organisers said around 600 participants had suffered heat-related illnesses, prompting Seoul officials to order the deployment of military doctors and nurses on Thursday. Its understood youngsters were fainting, had headaches and felt dizzy from the scorching heat.
There have been reports of mould found in eggs provided to the participants at the camping sites
Attendees of the World Scout Jamboree cool off with water at a scout camping site in Buan, South Korea
One majorly concerned mother told The Telegraph the event has been shambolic. ‘Flooding, ambulances everywhere, rubbish, poor sanitation, not enough food, the list is endless,’ she said.
‘They are trying their hardest to make it work but it’s a disaster waiting to happen.’
She added that the heat has been described by her son as ‘stifling’ and that people can’t cope with the lack of shade, while they have been told to leave air-conditioned areas regularly.
Another anxious parent said that people are feeling ‘bullied into keeping quiet’ and don’t know what to do. Participants and Unit Leaders from the UK have paid £3,495 for the event.
One parent told local radio station MBC Radio: Children these days are raised as precious, but no matter how much it’s in the spirit of the Jamboree, shouldn’t they send the kids camping with basics such as hygiene and cleanliness at least?
‘I talked to my son until late last night, and he was extremely tired… Some participants suffered from heatstroke from the 40C weather, and even after coming back from the hospital due to dehydration, they were asked to stand up and give a round of applause for 25 minutes when each guest arrived in alphabetical order.’
Other parents insisted that their children were still having the ‘time of their lives’ despite the blistering heat. They commended event organisers for providing electrolyte drinks, shaded tent areas and pop up hospital rooms for young people.
One parent, Rob Drummer, told MailOnline: ‘I have had nothing but positive messages from a young man who is having the time of his life, meeting new people and exploring different cultures.’ Another parent said that while it is undoubtedly hot, their 14-year-old son was being ‘very well cared for’ by their leaders.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol responded to hundreds of cases of heat exhaustion by ordering an ‘unlimited’ number of air-conditioned buses that scouts can use for brief refuge and refrigerator trucks to provide cold water, presidential spokesman Kim Eun-hye said Friday.
A participant is carried by stretcher at Jamboree Hospital during the 25th World Scout Jamboree
A participant drinks water at a water supply zone of the camping site amid soaring temperatures
Participants receive medical treatment at Jamboree Hospital as many struggle with the heatwave
Attendees of the World Scout Jamboree hold umbrellas to avoid sunshine at one of the camping sites
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (delivering welcome speech) ordered an ‘unlimited’ number of air-conditioned buses that scouts can use for brief refuge and refrigerator trucks to provide cold water
South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol (front C) and his wife Kim Keon Hee (centre R) throwing paper airplanes during the glitzy opening ceremony
An attendee of the World Scout Jamboree walks by garbage and items for recycling at a scout camping site
Yoon’s office added that the emergency meeting would make a decision ‘regarding the allocation of approximately six billion won (£3.6million) in contingency funds’.
The United States Forces Korea told AFP that about 600 American jamboree participants had been offered the chance to stay at Camp Humphreys, a US army garrison in Pyeongtaek, to avoid the heat.
Local broadcasters reported some scouts were ‘stuck’ at the remote campsite despite the heat, citing anonymous staff members.
‘It’s hard to even arrange bus rides on your own,’ one staffer said.
Some people online compared the situation to the deadly survival game featured in South Korea’s mega-hit Netflix series ‘Squid Game’.
‘Greetings to Scouts from all around the globe, as you arrive at the K-Survival Game,’ one quipped on Twitter, which is being rebranded as X, above an image of pink Squid Game-style costumes.
The jamboree has gathered scouts from around the world since 1920 and takes place every four years – each time hosted by a different country.
Youngsters at the World Scout Jamboree rest under the shade at the scout camping site in Buan
World Scouting acknowledged on Friday that an ‘extreme heatwave and humidity’ has caused ‘some challenging conditions’ for young people at the event
Participants for the 25th World Scout Jamboree gather at a water supply zone on a camping site
One of the participants receives medical attention after being struck down by South Korea’s heatwave
A youngster is carried on a stretcher at Jamboree Hospital. More than 600 children have been hit by heat exhaustion
World Scouting acknowledged on Friday that an ‘extreme heatwave and humidity’ has caused ‘some challenging conditions’ for young people at the event.
‘We share your concerns and are working closely with the Host and Government of Korea to ensure a safe, healthy and fun jamboree environment for all,’ it wrote.
Organisers said they were modifying the schedule depending on the temperature, adding that the scouts remained resilient.
‘Despite the heat and the difficulties and the challenges that they are facing, only 8% reported that they were very unsatisfied with the experience so far,’ Jacob Murray, the director for World Events at the Scouts, told reporters.
‘We are grateful to the Korean government and provincial government for providing additional resources.’
South Korea raised the heat warning level in its four-tier system to the highest as of 6pm on Tuesday, the first time since 2019.
The highest ‘serious’ warning is issued when the apparent temperature is expected at 35C or higher in at least 40 per cent of the country’s 180 regions for three or more days. It can also be issued when the apparent temperature is likely to be 38C or higher for three or more days in 10 per cent of the country.
Following the heatwave chaos at the SaeManGeum site, it was announced British children would be moved away to hotels.
The UK Scout Association, which is the largest contingent there, said young people and adult volunteers will be moved to hotel accommodation in the country’s capital Seoul over the next two days to help ‘alleviate the pressure’ on the site.
It said in a statement: ‘We know that may be a disappointment for some and we will continue the Jamboree experience in Seoul, working with Korean authorities on a programme of activities so our young people still get the most from their time in Korea.
‘Young people will travel home as originally planned from August 13.
‘While we have been on site at the Jamboree, the UK volunteer team has worked extremely hard with the organisers, for our youth members and adult volunteers to have enough food and water to sustain them, shelter from the unusually hot weather, and toilets and washing facilities appropriate for an event of this scale.’
A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesman said: ‘We continue to closely monitor the situation at the World Scout Jamboree in SaeManGeum closely.
‘Consular officials are on site to support attendees as planned and in line with standard practice for such events. We are in regular contact with both the UK Scouts and the relevant Korean authorities to ensure the safety of British nationals.’
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