Thousands of Facebook Users Ready for 'Night of Mayhem'

LONDON, July 3, 2008 — -- Police in a town on the east coast of England are breathing a sigh of relief today after a beach party organized on Facebook for 10,000 people was canceled by the organizers, but the townspeople fear thousands of celebrants will show up anyway.

The party, pitched as a "night of mayhem," was slated to kick off this weekend in the seaside town of Torbay.

It was billed as the "biggest open party Torbay has ever seen," which made local authorities anxious.

Earlier this week, Police Superintendent Chris Singer made a public statement threatening to apply to local judges to ban any sale of alcohol in the area over the weekend to prevent the party from happening.

But organizers -- who remain anonymous -- posted a message last night saying the event was canceled.

"With such a high volume of people attending, such factors as traffic management, waste disposal and sanitary conditions, among others, have to be carefully planned," it said.

The message went on to say that the planning could not be done within the time constraints.

More than 4,500 guests still confirmed they'd attend and 7,263 said they may attend. But organizers warned invitees that they could be arrested if they show up.

The police found out about the party three weeks ago after an off-duty police officer came across it on Facebook. Since then, the department has been trying to thwart the event.

Police Constable Baxter Provan told ABC News that although he was pleased the event had been canceled, contingency plans were still in place.

"We're not in the clear," he said. "I can't disclose what our plans are, but we're not ready to tell our people to take the weekend off, as we don't know to what level the organizers are treating the alleged cancellation."

Social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace and Meet.Up are no longer just about connecting.

They're used as tools for making plans and can instantaneously inform large groups of people about an event, a strategy that makes local officials nervous.

"We were fortunate on this one," admitted Provan. "You cannot monitor the internet. It's just too huge."