A viral prank that promised to see two million alien hunters breach the gates of Area 51 has ended with a whimper instead of a bang, drawing only a few dozen enthusiasts for the much-anticipated โraid.โ
Initially a mock Facebook event, โStorm Area 51โ quickly became a phenomenon that garnered interest from hundreds of thousands of netizens, who signed up to blaze past police and military guards to โsee them aliensโ at the top-secret Nevada facility. Some celebrities whoโd promised to join in heated up the memeful event even more, while the authorities tried to pour cold water on even the idea of a peaceful alien-themed festival, calling it unsustainable.
So what epic action unfolded in the middle of the Nevada desert on Friday morning as the pulled-in reinforcements readied their rifles and K9 guards stood poised at the perimeter? Well, you guessed it โ none of it.
Egging each other on to โstick to the plan,โ a small crowd gathered outside the gates of the Area 51 complex in the early hours. A survey of reporting on the event put between โseveral dozenโ and โa couple hundredโ people who gathered near Area 51, falling far short of the over two million RSVPs gathered on Facebook.
The even smaller group of โraidersโ โ seemingly populated in large part by YouTube vloggers โ milled right at the facilityโs entrance and chatted up the guards.
Though many revelers could be seen performing their best โNaruto runsโ outside the gates, none dared to face down the US military and attempt to force their way in, perhaps best for all involved. The most shocking case of unrest boiled down to one man reportedly arrested for public urination, while another woman was detained by police for reasons undisclosed.
Aside from the โraid,โ a number of other competing Area 51-themed events are being held in the general area around the site. A Google search of โArea 51 eventsโ brings up a litany of festivals, concerts and parties held both around Nevada and the country in honor of the brave โraiders.โ
While a music festival dubbed Alienstock was scheduled for the town of Rachel, Nevada, the event was canceled at the last minute over concerns about a massive influx of tourists, as the town itself has only about 100 residents and no adequate infrastructure for crowds. But alien hunters looking for a big party still hope to find one in Las Vegas, where the relocated Alienstock is set to run as an electronic music show. More โseriousโ UFOlogists can attend โArea 51 Basecamp,โ which features a roster of expert speakers.
โWhat I think this symbolizes personally is weโre ready for disclosure, and the general public wants people to show it to us, or weโre gonna come and get it,โ a UFO enthusiast named Jason said.
โNow, granted, sure they wanna put a gun to the head, arrest you, all that kind of stuff,โ he added. โBut maybe itโs going to help get the point across that weโre taking it seriously.โ