Three giant mechanical elephants paraded through the streets of Taiwan’s capital this weekend for the opening of the 2026 Taipei Arts Festival. The spectacle, “Trois éléphants passent…,” was staged by French street theater company Compagnie Oposito and drew crowds of more than 100,000 on Saturday, September 5.

The Taipei City Government said on Sunday that the turnout exceeded expectations and caused congestion along parts of the route, which ran along Jihe Road before ending at the Taipei Performing Arts Center outdoor plaza.

More than 400 police and volunteer traffic officers were deployed during the opening night, while Taipei Metro added six trains to help move the crowds. The city also said it introduced additional crowd-control measures for Sunday’s second and final performance.

The production, which features three mechanical elephants measuring 4.5 meters high, was created in 2008. It has since been performed in more than 30 cities in eight countries.

The production also marked 40 years since Taipei Zoo relocated across the city from Yuanshan in northern Taipei to Muzha in the south, when animals from the zoo were transported in a relocation parade watched by hundreds of thousands of people.