Plans for 'White Party' Cause Uproar in Sri Lanka

An event planner says he has been forced to leave Sri Lanka after he tried to plan an ill-advised "white party"—and it led to Sri Lankan officials telling Russian tourists they must go, too, though it seems that decision may not stick. The story:

• The party: The BBC reports a man using the now-inactive Instagram handle geo_ecstatic announced a party for expats, with the event's ad specifying a white dress code—but also including the phrase "Face control: White," which was read as restricting the event to white people only. The party, which was to take place in the Sarayka Lounge in the southern coastal town of Unawatuna last Saturday, was canceled.

• The mea culpa: "I didn't expect this to be such a sensitive moment for a huge number of people. I admit that it was a bad idea ... and I understand that we created it ourselves out of our stupidity. I deeply apologize to everyone whose feelings were hurt," geo_ecstatic reportedly told the BBC.
• The Russia angle. He and the other party planners are said to be Russian, with a local business leader telling the BBC many Russians have moved to Unawatuna since the country's invasion of Ukraine, with nearly 300,000 Russians and almost 20,000 Ukrainians coming to Sri Lanka over that time.

• The response: Sri Lankan officials targeted all Russian tourists in response, reportedly saying they planned to cancel long-term tourist visa extensions, with Russian and Ukrainian tourists obligated to leave Sri Lanka by March 7, reports NBC News. That's a twist from January, when the Immigration Department said it planned another free visa extension due to the "non-operation of airlines in the region."
• The reversal: But it appears the cancelation won't hold, with President Ranil Wickremesinghe's office on Sunday posting to X that decision was announced without first getting cabinet approval. "The Govt hasn't officially decided to revoke visa extensions previously granted to these tourists." More than 288,000 Russians and nearly 20,000 Ukrainians have travelled to Sri Lanka since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, according to reports.

(More Sri Lanka stories.)