(20/100) 2012 - the wettest summer on record
Our first summer on the streets: with five mobile machines and more than 80 festivals and events secured. The anticipation was high. The 2012 London Olympics, Secret Garden Party, Latitude Festival. And then came the rain. Day after day. Week after week. The wettest summer on record and we were trying to sell frozen yogurt!
What we did see were glimpses of hope amongst a lot of wet weather days and in the moment, these small wins were what kept the Daisy flame alight.
The Olympics sticks in my mind as a key “learning” experience. We believed it would draw massive crowds and be buzzing 24/7. We were hungry for a pitch. What was set to be our prime pitch was a food village created outside the Excel arena (the now infamous London Pleasure Gardens). The reality was that the Mayor told everyone that London would be overwhelmed so everyone chose to stay at home, the streets and pubs were empty, the rain continued and the exit to Pleasure Gardens was abandoned. The Pleasure Gardens were renamed the Gardens of Hell and ended up closing into administration mid-way through the Olympics. It was a lesson in managing anticipation that came early for Daisy.