As businesses, concerts and local events continue to be affected by COVID-19, the 2021 Rose Parade is the latest event to be canceled.

This will be only the fourth time in its history that the Pasadena-based Tournament of Roses Parade has been canceled and the first since WWII in 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 number one priority,” Bob Miller, 2021 president of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association said. “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.”

With guidance from the Keck School of Medicine at USC, they concluded that even with social distancing and mask regulations, there would inevitably be groups “in close proximity to each other… creating a high risk environment for viral spread.”

Although the parade would have been more than five months away, the preparation and float production typically begins in February, putting them months behind because of the pandemic. 

The college football Rose Bowl game, which is organized in conjunction with the parade, has not been canceled as of this writing. 

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