Article Lead Image

Dutch police on alert after Facebook party invite goes viral

A Facebook party invitation that was accidentally made public has grown into a wild event called Project X Haren, with 150,000 people currently invited. The Dutch town where the party is scheduled has a population of 18,000.

 

Jordan Valinsky

IRL

Posted on Sep 20, 2012   Updated on Jun 2, 2021, 10:47 am CDT

Police in a small Dutch town are preparing for what could become their own version of “Project X,” a movie about a party that grows out of control.

In the northern Dutch city of Haren, officers are reportedly on “high alert” after a high schooler created a invite for her party that went viral on Facebook. The 16-year-old failed to make the invite for Friday’s party private, thus it spread around friends’ profiles.

With word of the rager spreading, anticipated partygoers have created a spoof movie trailer, memes, a Twitter account, and even a special website called Project X Haren. It has a countdown clock until the party begins while ominously blaring a remix of  the Yeah Yeah Yeahs song “Heads Will Roll.”

De Telegraaf, a Dutch newspaper, reported that more than 23,000 people were invited, with 2,400 of them RSVPing as attending. The commuter city of Haren, two hours northeast of Amsterdam, has a population of 18,000.

However, the Project X Haren website claims that more than 150,000 people have been invited. A Facebook link on the site to the party’s invite has been deleted.

“She posted the invitation on Facebook and send it to friends, who then sent it to other friends and soon it spread like wildfire across the Internet,” a police spokeswoman told AFP.

If the party is to materialize, police and city officials are preparing for it. Town council members are reviewing emergency plans while the police have made a plea for party goers to stay away.

“We are taking extra measures, but what they are I’m not at liberty to tell you,” said a police spokeswoman.

But could all this party prepping be for naught? A Dutch television station reports that the girl in the center of the invite won’t even be home.

Photo via Twitter

Share this article
*First Published: Sep 20, 2012, 4:50 pm CDT