Lookalike contests How many Zendayas, Chalamets and Whites does it take to cheer a city up?

When Miles Mitchell's friends saw flyers scattered across New York City last month advertising a Timothée Chalamet lookalike competition, they urged the 21-year-old college senior from Staten Island to enter.

- Anna Betts

Soon, Mitchell found himself at his local Goodwill store, buying an outfit resembling the one worn by Chalamet's Willy Wonka character.

Mitchell arrived at Washington Square Park on 27 October for the contest and faced off with other contestants dressed as Chalamet in front of thousands of people.

To his surprise, he won, earning the prize of $50, new friends and newfound fame, in what he has called the "craziest day" of his life.

"It was a sensory overload," he said. "There were so many people, and people were coming up to me for pictures and interviews."

Despite the event's chaos, which included four arrests and a $500 fine for the organizer for lacking a permit, the contest was a success and went viral online, especially after the real Chalamet made an appearance.

The event has since been parodied on Saturday Night Live and inspired dozens of similar lookalike contests with their own local spins in cities worldwide, mainly promoted through flyers and social media.

In recent weeks, people resembling celebrities such as Paul Mescal, Jeremy Allen White, Harry Styles, Dev Patel and Zendaya have flocked to parks across cities including Dublin, London, San Francisco, New York and Oakland in California, attracting thousands of people and offering low-stakes, in-person entertainment.

The New York event that started the trend was organized by the YouTuber Anthony Po. He promoted it by plastering posters around New York City in an effort to create a fun, positive video in contrast to the negativity he sees on the internet.

"We thought it was funny; we knew we'd get big, we just didn't know how big," said Po, who has more than 1.8 million followers on YouTube.

His video from the contest has been watched more than 1m times on YouTube, and other videos of the event posted on TikTok have received several million views and likes.