2026 Taipei Arts Festival "The Elephant Is Coming..." Shilin Field was crowded with people but no police presence was seen, attracting public criticism

The 2026 Taipei Arts Festival's large-scale outdoor performance "The Elephant Is Coming..." was performed in Shilin on the 5th. The venue was crowded but no police were deployed, and was criticized by the public. (Photographed by reporter Chen Yiquan/authorized by @hoopsnhk)

The 2026 Taipei Arts Festival's large-scale outdoor performance "Trois Éléphants Passent..." (Trois Éléphants Passent...) will be launched in Shilin today. It is expected to parade for 800 meters, and the entire process is free and open to participation. The event attracted a large number of people, but after the event, a large number of people complained that there was no clear movement planning and police deployment at the scene, resulting in crowds being blocked and unable to move.

The 2026 Taipei Arts Festival, organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Taipei City Government and the Taipei Performing Arts Center, will be held on the evening of September 5. The organizer invited the French street art representative group "Compagnie Oposito" to lead three huge metal mechanical elephants 4.5 meters high and 8 meters long into the streets of Shilin. The whole process is free and open to the public, creating an exclusive urban carnival party in Taipei.

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However, just after the first day of the event, some netizens complained on Threads, "There was no police or guide personnel deployed after the event. Thousands of people got into a nearby alley and were stuck unable to get out! Everyone walked back in place and blocked the people who came in. Jiang Wanan can be more passive! Anger! What an elephant you are looking at! I was full of anger before I saw it!"

After the post was exposed, it attracted many responses from the audience. Netizens said, "Don't forget the Itaewon incident", "The police force is completely insufficient! I didn't see the police at all, super question marks", "There was no manpower to guide and evacuate the crowd. The crowd was so crowded that a stampede almost occurred. The crowd even spontaneously shouted to the crowd behind that the event is over, please go back, otherwise the crowd will keep intersecting." Some netizens took pictures of the road from a height after leaving, "Finally leaving hell."

View at Threads

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