Helsinki grocery store invites customers to a cool sleepover

People living in Finland has suffered over 50 days of hot weather. Meteorological institutions forecasted that the prolonged heat wave will take a pause next week, but the weekend will be still hot, particularly in the country’s southern areas.

K-Supermarket Pohjois-Haaga, a grocery store belonging to Finland’s second largest retail chain Kesko, provides a chance to some Helsinki residents to sleep comfortably in the store that has air conditioning and refrigeration systems, Finnish media reported.

Marika Lindfors, shopkeeper of the grocery store, said the idea was inspired by customers’ jokes.

“Customers have blurted out half-seriously how nice it would be to be able to sleep in our cool store. We’ve always strived to respond to customer feedback,” Lindfors was quoted by saying.

The number of guests for the sleepover will be limited to 100, as there will not be enough room for everyone, she explained.

The news about the sleepover invitation has been well received by the public. The post about the event released earlier this week on the store’s Facebook page has so far received more than 7,800 likes and was shared nearly 1,800 times.

Lindfors said issues about security and hygiene has been settled.

Finnish food safety authority Evira has green-lit the event, and now the store is discussing safety issues with rescue officials. A security guard will be on the spot on Saturday night, according to the report.

This summer, Finland has experienced over 50 hot days, during which the temperature surpassed 25 degrees Celsius that is officially considered hot in the Nordic country. The highest recorded temperature was measured last month in Vaasa on the west coast, at a sweltering 33.7 degrees.

In July this year, Finland had the highest-ever average temperature across the country recorded by the Finnish Meteorological Institute in 77 years since 1941.

Ordinarily households in Finland are not equipped with any refrigeration facilities such as AC or electric fans, as summer in the Nordic country is usually cool with the average temperature of under 20 degrees celsius.