New Year’s Day is going to feel a little different due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Tournament Of Roses has canceled the Rose Parade for 2021 due to the restrictions and guidelines in California. As for the Rose Bowl game, it is still in play for the time being.
“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 in a statement. “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.” This will be the fourth time the Rose Parade has been canceled since its inception in 1891. The other three times the parade was canceled was in 1942, 1943, and 1945, which was when World War II was happening.
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The Rose Bowl game is still scheduled to be played on New Year’s Day. It will serve as one of the two College Football Playoff Semifinal Games. “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, “Executive director/CEO David Eads said. “While the safety and well-being of the student-athletes, university personnel, and fans is our top priority, we remain hopeful that the Granddaddy of Them All will take place on New Year’s Day.”
This news comes on the heels of the Big Ten conference deciding to have a conference only schedule all fall sports, including football. With that decision, many believe college football won’t be played at all this fall. The ACC and Pac-12 are expected to also follow the same footsteps as the Big Ten but haven’t made it official yet. The SEC, which is arguably the most competitive conference in all of college football, will wait to decide before the end of the month.
The Rose Parade is one of the biggest parades in the world as preparation for the event starts in February. For the 2020 Rose Parade, 40 floats, 450 horses, and 20 marching bands were featured.
