2021 Rose Parade Canceled For The First Time In 75 Years

LOS ANGELES, CA — For the first time in 75 years, the Rose Parade has been canceled for 2021 due to restrictions currently in place as part of the state's phase reopening, officials announced Wednesday.

The Rose Parade is held each year on Jan. 1 in celebration of the new year. Since it began in 1891, it has only been canceled three times: during the wartime years of 1942, 1943 and 1945.

“The health and well-being of our parade participants and guests — as well as that of our volunteer members, professional staff and partners — is our No. 1 priority,” said Bob Miller, 2021 President of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association, in the announcement. “Obviously, this is not what any of us wanted, and we held off on announcing until we were absolutely sure that safety restrictions would prevent us from continuing with planning for 132nd Rose Parade.”

In order to assess the possibility of holding the 2021 parade, the Tournament of Roses commissioned a feasibility and safety report from public health experts from the Keck School of Medicine at USC. The report showed that even with public health measures in place such as social distancing and face masks, the Rose Parade activities would likely lead to large numbers of people in close proximity to each other.

The parade also draws thousands of spectators to Los Angeles from across the country, which parade officials said would represent an infection risk to travelers and could lead to the importation of the virus to the area from other regions.

Parade officials said that while the parade will not be held Jan. 1, they do plan to celebrate the new year in some form.

"Each year, the country turns its eyes to Pasadena for America's New Year celebration, and we plan to deliver on that important promise," CEO David Eads said in the announcement. "We may not be able to host our traditional 5-mile march down Colorado Boulevard, but we are exploring new and safe ways we can collectively share in the celebration, and we look forward to announcing further details about our exciting new plans in the coming weeks."

Planning for the parade begins in February, and float construction can take many months, Eads said. In the announcement, Eads said the float construction requires thousands of volunteers, who would not be safe given the current public health crisis.

"While we are extremely disappointed that we are unable to host the parade, we believe that not doing so will prevent the spread of COVID-19, as well as protect the legacy of the Rose Parade for generations to come," he said.

The Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association also hosts the Rose Bowl Game each year on Jan. 1. The planning for this year's game is still ongoing.

"We continue to work with the College Football Playoff and our collegiate partners to explore what this year's college football season will look like amidst COVID-19 and social distancing guidelines," Eads said in the announcement.