DENVER (AP) - The National Western Stock Show in Denver has been postponed until January 2022 to limit the spread of COVID-19 after officials said there would be problems complying with coronavirus health guidelines.
“The projected environment through to the end of the year is too uncertain and therefore not reassuring enough to allow a traditional Stock Show to take place without potentially compromising the health and safety of exhibitors, visitors and the public at large,” show officials said in a statement.
Stock Show Chairman Doug Jones made the announcement Monday and said although it was a difficult decision, he expects the show to return “stronger than ever.”
The show was originally scheduled for January 2021, but is now postponed to the following year, KMGH-TV reported.
Stock Show President Paul Andrews said city officials could not find a way for the event to continue while also complying with social distancing regulations.
The show is among the largest of its kind in the United States and typically draws more than 700,000 people over 16 days, Andrews said. The event was postponed one other time when there was a hoof and mouth disease outbreak among cattle in 1915.
Denver Mayor Michael Hancock said he supported the decision to postpone the event.
“The Stock Show came back from that postponement (in 1915) and it came back stronger, and we expect that it will do the same in 2022,” Hancock said. “The city is in full support of this.”
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