A couple who arranged a gender reveal party in front of more than 100,000 people were left confused about their baby’s sex after the lighting of a £35 million landmark flashed the wrong colour.
Harry Day, 24, took the moment that the Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth turned blue as a signal to propose to his partner Chloe Brooks on her birthday.
As their group of friends and family celebrated, the famous 560ft tower began to change colour to pink – which it stayed for the rest of the evening.
Mother-of-two Chloe said she’ felt ‘humiliated’ because her phone was already ‘blowing up’ with friends saying congratulations on her baby boy and then her special moment was ruined.
Meanwhile, floor layer Harry had got his hopes up for a little Harry Junior.
Harry Day, 24, and his partner Chloe Brooks, 33, were left ‘humiliated’ after Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth turned blue (pictured) before turning pink during their gender reveal party
Organisers of the gender reveal party have apologised to the couple (pictured) and refunded the £150 fee for the event
Chloe (pictured) said the event was organised as a surprise after her mother saw it being advertised on Facebook
The newly engaged couple, who hope to marry in 2025, eventually had to resort to ringing a friend to find out the baby’s sex.
Organisers have now apologised and refunded the fee for the event, which was live-streamed to 130,000 people.
Chloe said: ‘It was a surprise for me, all planned by Harry after my mum had seen it advertised on Facebook.
‘We were told it would be flashing pink and blue for two minutes before turning the right colour at 7pm.
‘We called them to say ‘have you seen what happened – surely that can’t be right, that’s not on’.
Chloe said they were told the tower (pictured) would flash pink and blue for two minutes before turning the right colour at 7pm
Harry took the tower turning blue as a signal to propose to mother-of-two Chloe (pictured) and got his hopes up that they would be welcoming a son
Chloe said the tower turned blue for a long time and everyone went back inside the pub thinking they were having a boy. Pictured: Harry and Chloe’s reaction to what they thought was a reveal that they had a baby boy on the way after the Spinnaker lights turned blue
‘It stayed blue for so long. I thought it was terrible, it was really, really bad. You only get that moment once – you can’t do it again.
‘Everyone went back inside the pub thinking it was a boy. Harry did get his hopes up and his head was all mangled afterwards, but he loves that we’re having a girl.
‘My best friend could not make it so she was the only one who knew as I’d given her the envelope with the baby’s sex.
‘I had to call her and say ‘I’m being serious, we don’t know what we are having’.
‘The next day, we sent Spinnaker Tower a message to say that we’re really not happy.
Chloe (pictured) said her best friend was the only person who knew the baby’s sex and had to correct the mishap
Harry and Chloe contacted Spinnaker Tower the day after the event to let them know they were unhappy. Pictured: The couple celebrating as they believed they were expecting a boy
Chloe said the situation was ‘humiliating’ and people have been making memes about it. Pictured: Harry proposing to Chloe
‘It was humiliating – people are making memes about it.
‘I messaged them and they called me the next day. They really apologised.’
The couple, who have two little girls Mavie, five, and Rose, four, have now been refunded the full cost of £150 and offered a free ride up the tower.
Their baby girl will be born in July later this year.
Despite the landmark having remained blue for some time, a spokesperson insisted there was no glitch.
The couple have been refunded the full cost of the event and offered a free ride up the tower from the apologetic organisers. Pictured: Harry and Chloe with their daughters
A Spinnaker Tower spokesperson claimed there wasn’t a glitch and the lighting system worked as they were supposed to during Harry and Chloe’s (pictured) gender reveal
The spokesperson revealed they will be working with the creators of the lighting company to perhaps change the system due to the concerns raised. Pictured: Harry and Chloe’s reaction as the tower turned blue
A Spinnaker Tower spokesperson said: ‘There was no glitch, nor mix up with our lighting system and they worked as they were supposed to.
‘In light of the concerns that were raised during this we’re now working closely with the creators of the lighting company to look into perhaps changing it for the future.’
Many who watched the live stream shared the couples’ confusion.
Laura Try commented: ‘[I] thought it was a terrible gender reveal… I didn’t know what they [were] having…nice idea [though] just a shame the people in the tower made it a light show disaster…’
The gender reveal party was live streamed to 13,000 people, with many sharing Harry and Chloe’s (pictured) confusion
Gender reveal parties have boomed in the UK with some soon-to-be parents using balloons, cutting a cake or letting off a cannon to reveal blue or pink. Pictured: Chloe and Harry with their daughters
And Kayleigh Deek asked: ‘So is it a boy or a girl?’
Gender reveal parties, an American trend started by Jenna Karvunidis in which a baby’s sex is revealed to the parents, family and friends, have boomed in the UK.
Some soon-to-be parents reveal the sex by popping a balloon, cutting into a cake or even letting off a cannon which reveals the tell tale blue or pink sign.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk