The Elvis Presley immersive experience in London opened to 1 star reviews (including from the Daily Express) as disappointed fans took to social media to slam the show as “atrocious” and an “utter scam”.
The source of their fury stems from a wide expectation that the new attraction would include an Elvis hologram performing with live music, as was teased when the show was originally announced.
Yet, in the end, the production simply used clips of the King from his ’68 Comeback Special (which you can watch for free on YouTube) with three musicians performing live in front of it.
And this was only at the end of the walk-through, which was heavily focused on Elvis’ African-American childhood friend Sam Bell rather than the star himself.
Reports of a pensioner being dragged out for slamming the show – and audience members groaning and grumbling throughout – led to Elvis Evolution releasing a statement saying abuse towards the cast and team would not be tolerated. And now the troubled attraction’s latest social media post specifically calls out alleged racism by some audience members.
Elvis Evolution’s latest post reads: “Racism Has No Place Here. Not Now, Not Ever. Over 20k people have already experienced Elvis Evolution, sharing in the memories of Elvis’ childhood friend, Sam Bell and discovering what made The King so special. But a small minority have brought hate instead of love, directing abuse at members of our cast both in person and online. This behaviour is totally unacceptable. We will protect our team without compromise. Any abuse will be reported. We stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our incredible cast and will not tolerate abuse or racism in any form.”
A quote by the King himself read: “Love has surely made us all and hate would surely make us fall.” The post was signed off: “We Stand Against Racism.”