Two friends were left in fits of laughter after mistaking the glow from a Premier Inn sign for the Northern Lights.
Karim Akhtar and Solomon Laurent, both 22, were returning from a night out on Friday when they spotted what they believed to be the aurora borealis illuminating the Norwich skies.
Excitedly, they started filming their experience for TikTok, laughing and marveling at their supposed good fortune.
However, their joy quickly turned to disappointment when they realised the purple light was actually emanating from a nearby Premier Inn.
Their TikTok video has since gone viral, racking up over six million views and more than 800,000 likes, capturing the moment they burst into laughter upon the revelation, reports the Mirror.
The incident was particularly ironic as the pair had previously travelled to Iceland in January to catch a glimpse of the real Northern Lights, only to be thwarted by cloudy weather.
Karim, studying pharmacology at the University of East Anglia, recounted: “I was with my mate Sully coming back from the pharmacology ball, and I was walking by my accommodation and thought we saw the lights.
“We ran down the road while looking up, thinking they looked weird. We looked down and saw a Premier Inn.”
Brits were thrilled as the Northern Lights, also known as the Aurora Borealis, put on a dazzling display across the UK skies. The celestial dance was visible ‘from top to tail across the country’, prompting countless enthusiasts to stay up into the wee hours, hoping to witness the natural light show.
Social media was abuzz with stunning images captured from bedrooms and backyards, as the spectacle unfolded on Saturday evening, negating any need for a flight to far-flung destinations like Iceland.
The extraordinary sight came after an “extreme” geomagnetic storm, as reported by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which heightened the aurora’s visibility not just in the UK but also parts of Europe on Friday night.
Premier Inn chimed in on the excitement, with a spokesperson stating: “There’s no need to search the skies, Premier Inn is a beacon of light and can bring the Aurora glow directly to your room, without needing a camera to see it.
“Rest easy under the enchanting purple glow of our light up headboards, knowing that you can experience this wonder every night of the year from the luxury of one of our comfy beds.”
