Bewildered football fans found themselves at the big top instead of the big game as they got taxis to Manchester United’s Old Trafford Ground.
While plans for a spectacular new stadium at Old Trafford may have been compared to a circus tent, groups of visitors were left stunned when arrived at a circus. Gandeys Circus staff were even more confused as more fans kept turning up, the Manchester Evening News reports.
Gandeys had been performing its Carnival Spectacular show at Trafford Centre, led by ringmaster Joel Hatton and features Bippo the clown alongside acrobats, magicians and performers.
Stadium plans
The pair shared on social media that they believe the bizarre incident has occurred following the reveal of plans for a new 100,000-seat stadium next to Old Trafford.
“It’s all just been really bizarre,” Bippo, from Bury, told the Manchester Evening News. “I find it hilarious, but some of our colleagues haven’t been too happy about it as it’s just confusing people.
“Basically, the other day, the ticket staff rang Joel, who is the show manager, up to say that there were people at the box office asking if they were at Old Trafford. He didn’t understand it and went to speak to them and they said they had been dropped off at our show by their taxi driver expecting to see the stadium.
“We thought it was just a one-off and someone was having a laugh, but then we had a few others where the situation was the same. There were four other families who just turned up thinking they were at Old Trafford. We’ve had to be like ‘sorry, that’s like five miles away from here’.”
Prank
Bippo says the Gandeys team believe that a taxi driver, or a local firm, has been playing a prank on Manchester United fans.
He told the Manchester Evening News: “We’ve come to the conclusion that it’s got to be a taxi firm that’s behind this. But then, we were thinking that it might not work out well for them because they’ll get bad reviews from it. But that’s all we can think is the reason for it happening so many times.
“I’m a Manchester United fan and most of us have been able to see the funny side, but there is a part of it where it is actually confusing people. The boss wasn’t too happy about it.
“She’s got a great sense of humour, but she did say how it’s hard enough to get people into the show during the nice weather as it is and then they’re coming, you know, hoping to see Bruno Fernandes and they leave because they’ve got Bippo the clown instead.”
What do you think? Is it a prank or have visitors to Old Trafford been mixed up with their destination?
