In this ever-changing environment that has been shaped by the coronavirus pandemic’s grasp, there won’t be any time to stop and smell the roses at the beginning of the New Year.
According to reports, the Rose Bowl Parade—one of the most significant events in college sports and American pop culture during the New Year’s festivities—has been canceled. It’s the first time in 75 years the nationally televised event, which attracts thousands of onlookers each year, has been called off. And the reasoning for the decision, like most things that have been affected by COVID-19 and the fear of “what’s next/what could happen?”, resulted from multiple circumstances log-jamming into almost an expected outcome.
The Tournament of Roses worked with USC Keck School of Medicine health officials to determine the feasibility of hosting the annual parade—one that is well known to produce large crowds, all lined up shoulder to shoulder in hopes of getting a glimpse at some of the rose-filled creations.
The result wasn’t good: It was determined that the coronavirus’s spread would likely be at high levels of probability.
And, as Chief Executive David Eads told LA Times’ Arash Markazi, there were outliers too:
“On top of the risk, the Tournament of Roses is months behind in preparing the floats. Volunteers — many of whom are seniors — typically start building the floats in March, but they have not been able to start because of the “safer-at-home” orders.”
“Dozens of high school bands scheduled to participate have not been able to practice their performances due to school closures and a handful of international marching bands wouldn’t be able to attend because of travel limits”
Eads hinted that there would be a possible televised event with the broadcast partners, something (anything) to create some of the enjoyment the parade provides worldwide, and locally.
The Rose Bowl game, to note, is still scheduled for January 1—in what could be the new normal as we move into 2021.