Conservative Party virtual conference crashes as users unable to watch Michael Gove

Viewers struggle to access ‘fireside chat’ on the first day of online gathering

Error message after Conservative virtual conference website crashes (Andrew Woodcock)

The Conservative Party’s first virtual conference hit problems today as the website crashed for many activists and observers trying to log in to watch cabinet minister Michael Gove.

Internet viewers trying to watch the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster having a “fireside chat” with West Midlands mayor Andy Street were confronted with a Cloudflare gateway timeout message saying “conference.conservatives.com - Host Error”.

Party sources were not immediately aware of the cause of the problem, but it quickly generated complaints on social media from those trying to watch.

One frustrated viewer said: “#CPC20 Reminding me of UCAS, on results day morning – the portal’s either crashing or showing black screens for all the live streams. Hopefully, they'll put all the sessions up, on catch-up, to watch this evening; at the moment, it’ll just be whatever’s on Youtube.”

And another posted a message on Twitter: “Who'd have thought UK's #Conservative party, having presided over what’d appear the most inept response to #COVID19 in Europe, has spectacularly failed even to stage their annual conference virtually, with #CPC20 website currently crashing!? perfect metaphor for govt ineptitude?”

One party member suggested the conference might have been “infected by a virus and put in lockdown”.

All of the annual party conferences were forced into cyberspace by the coronavirus pandemic, which forced the cancellation of the planned Tory gathering in Birmingham. 

But unlike Labour and Liberal Democrats, who largely relied on politicians delivering speeches into cameras, the Conservatives have created an elaborate 3D virtual conference, with a computer-generated auditorium, foyer and fringe meeting rooms. 

Users can visit virtual stalls dotted around an exhibition hall, with companies paying between £6,000 and £25,000 for a presence.

Business delegates were charged £850 for a day pass, while non-members could pay £100 to watch.

Tory co-chair Amanda Milling described it as “the full conference experience but online”.

The glitch in the website seemed to be sorted out within around half an hour, with viewers able to access the conference to catch the end of Mr Gove’s appearance.