Thousands sign up to play unauthorized hide-and-seek game at Ikea, police called in

This weekend, police were called to an Ikea store in Glasgow, Scotland when employees learned that thousands of people had signed up on Facebook to play an unauthorized game of hide-and-seek in the maze-like building. According to The Scotsman, "groups of youths who looked like they were only there for the game were turned away from the shop." From The Scotsman:

The trend for using Ikeas giant warehouses for games began in Europe a few years ago - and has seen people hiding in fridges, under beds and in the firms big blue shopping bags...

However in 2015, IKEA was forced to impose a ban because the events were getting out of control.

Citing health and safety a spokesman explained: We need to make sure people are safe, and thats hard if we dont know where they are.

Rob Cooper, IKEA Glasgow Store Manager said: The safety of our customers and co-workers is always our highest priority. We were aware of an unofficial Hide and Seek Facebook event being organised to take place at our store today and have been working with the local police for support.While we appreciate playing games in one of our stores may be appealing to some, we do not allow this kind of activity to take place to ensure we are offering a safe environment and relaxed shopping experience for our customers.

"Police called to Scottish IKEA after thousands sign up for hide and seek" (The Scotsman)

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