What Went Wrong at the Shanghai Coffee Festival?

A coffee festival on the lawn in Lujiazui, Shanghai, was hit by a sudden heavy rainstorm. The grass turned to mud, some stalls leaked and lost power, and visitors struggled through standing water in low-lying areas. Forecasts had warned of weekend rain, yet organizers appeared to have made insufficient emergency preparations, and many participants voiced dissatisfaction.

Shanghai residents turned out anyway, forming long lines at the entrance before the 10 a.m. opening. The open lawn offered almost no shelter, and limited drainage left obvious pools of water after the downpour. Vendors reported canopy materials that were not waterproof and leaked to varying degrees. Some coffee lovers joked about drinking coffee with a built-in washed flavor, a nod to the city's deep coffee culture.

Recently, a coffee festival held on the lawn in Lujiazui, Shanghai, was hit by a sudden heavy rainstorm, turning what was originally a lively autumn event into a sorry mess. The rain turned the grass into mud, some stalls leaked and lost power, and visitors struggled through the wet, slippery mud, greatly diminishing the experience. Although weather forecasts had already warned of rain over the weekend, the organizers seemed to have made insufficient preparations, sparking dissatisfaction among many participants. However, some optimistic coffee lovers found a different kind of fun in it, even joking that they were drinking coffee with a "built-in washed flavor." Below is a detailed report of the incident.

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Recently, a coffee festival was being held in a lively manner on a wide expanse of grass in Lujiazui, Shanghai. However, the weather did not cooperate. Early this morning, Shanghai suddenly bid farewell to the clear, dry weather of the past few days and welcomed a torrential downpour. But for those Shanghai residents who cannot do without coffee, this bit of rain clearly could not stop them from going out to drink coffee.

Judging from photos posted by netizens on social platforms, before the event officially opened at 10 a.m., although the scene did not reproduce the crowded throngs of the previous days, visitors holding umbrellas still formed a long line at the entrance waiting to get in. After staff confirmed the reservation information, some visitors who walked into the venue began to regret wearing a pair of white sneakers out today.

It is understood that the venue for this coffee festival was located on an open lawn with almost no buildings nearby to shelter from wind and rain. The rain poured down, and the grass quickly turned into a muddy field. What was even more frustrating was that due to the lawn's limited drainage capacity and the rapid, fierce rainfall this morning, some lower-lying areas showed obvious standing water after the downpour, leaving visitors to complain while trudging through the mud and water, step by step.

This situation also caught some vendors somewhat off guard. According to feedback from netizens on the scene, the canopy materials used by some stalls were not waterproof, and after the heavy rain they leaked to varying degrees, leaving vendors to avoid the leaking spots under the canopy while continuing to make drinks for customers.

Some stall owners reacted quickly, immediately digging out plastic wrap, tarpaulins, and other materials to urgently wrap up equipment and ingredients that were afraid of water. However, some merchants failed to deal with it in time, causing the entire stall to fall into the predicament of a power outage.

Some local residents said that the meteorological department had already forecast rain for this weekend several days earlier. As the organizers of the event, they should have clearly understood the impact rain would have on an outdoor activity and should also have formulated a rain response plan in advance to ensure the coffee festival could proceed smoothly.

But judging from the situation on site, only a few scattered pieces of waterproof cloth were laid on the passageways, which could not improve visitors' walking conditions at all. After walking once across the wet grass, most people's shoes were basically covered in mud. In addition, the organizers also seemed not to have prepared rain canopies, waterproof plastic sheeting, and other supplies for the merchants in advance, causing some exhibitors' equipment to be damaged and resulting in economic losses.

Various situations left many netizens very dissatisfied. They believed that although the weather forecast had clearly indicated possible rain over the weekend, the organizers made no preparations at all, forcing visitors to trek difficultly through the muddy grass and drink coffee in a drizzly environment, seriously affecting participants' event experience.

In response, some regular customers who often attend coffee festivals said that this event, held every late autumn, has encountered rainy days more than once, and this experience of drinking coffee while stepping through muddy water is no longer a first for them. Although they are used to it, they also cannot understand why the organizers have not learned from it over so many years and prepared an emergency rain plan.

However, aside from complaining, some visitors with a more optimistic mindset felt that walking forward in the mud while smelling coffee gave them the illusion of "being on a coffee estate in the Americas or Africa," and the coffee they drank seemed to "come with the fresh washed flavor of the day." Some also pointed out that because of the rain, the number of people at the event dropped sharply, so there was no need to spend too much time waiting in line. From this point of view, it could actually be considered a good thing.

Image source: Xiaohongshu

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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.