Video calls became the solution in 2020 so that many people could work, educate themselves and reconnect with their family and friends.
However, they did not represent an option to carry out some of the most famous events scheduled for this year around the world.
The COVID-19 pandemic staggered everyone's life
.
And the sports, cultural and entertainment worlds were no exception.
Most of the relevant events took place behind closed doors or had to be canceled.
Here is a list of the most important ones that were suspended or postponed, with the possible new dates on which they could be carried out.
Sports events
Olympic Games
Tokyo had declared itself ready to host the 2020 Olympics, but the event had to be postponed due to the pandemic, something that had only happened before because of
the world wars
.
It is now scheduled to begin on July 23, 2021, and will cost more than $ 2.7 billion to reprogram.
The organizers are working so that the great sporting event takes place as planned, although the possibility of simplifying the competitions and ceremonies is being studied;
in addition to promoting large-scale vaccination of athletes and the public attending.
It
is not
even
ruled out that it will be suspended for the second time
, if COVID-19 continues to advance and cause deaths.
[The first case of the new variant of the coronavirus found in the United Kingdom was detected in the US]
“The Olympic Games were canceled in the past due to problems like war.
Now we are fighting an invisible enemy, ”Tokyo 2020 President Yoshiro Mori told the Japanese sports daily Nikkan Sports.
Hundreds of athletes responded to a poll in which they supported the suspension
of the Games.
Hundreds of athletes responded to a poll in which they supported the suspension of the 2020 Olympic Games AP
Eurocup
It was due to be played in 12 cities between June 12 and July 12, 2020, but was also postponed due to the pandemic.
On March 17, it was reported that it was being postponed to 2021, specifically
between June 11 and July 11.
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"The health of all the people involved in our discipline is the priority," UEFA said in a statement.
When more than one COVID-19 vaccine is approved, will you be able to choose which one to get?
Dec. 16, 202000: 54
The European competition is organized every four years without fail since 1960 and
is the second most important international tournament in
global
football
after the World Cup.
The organizers analyze the possibility of reducing the venues and the theme of the spectators to minimize the risk.
America Cup
The South American Football Confederation (Conmebol) announced on March 17 the decision to suspend the Copa América 2020 after the recommendations made by international organizations on public health.
[Biden criticizes Trump for the delay in vaccination: he promised 20 million immunized by the end of the year and there are 10 times less]
The main South American soccer tournament was to be played from June 12 to July 12, 2020 in Argentina and Colombia.
The initial plans of Conmebol is that it be played in the same period, but in 2021, although
there is the possibility that it will be delayed for other months
.
The venues would be the same.
We will have to wait for it to actually happen.
This motivated the progressive increase in cases of COVID-19 around the world.
If it cannot be held this year, it
is likely that it will be definitively canceled
if the European Championship takes place.
Remember that the organizers plan for both tournaments to be held in the same years from now on.
It is not the first time that the South American contest has been suspended due to a pandemic.
In 1918 the Spanish flu tarnished the tournament
.
At that time the Copa América would be played in Brazil, a country where approximately 50,000 deaths were recorded, including that of the president of the South American country, Francisco de Paula Rodrigues Alves.
Wimbledon
The London tennis tournament was canceled for the first time since World War II.
It should have been held from June 29 to July 12.
The 134th edition of the tournament
is
scheduled to
take place from July 28 to July 11, 2021.
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Winblendon was first contested in 1877
.
Since then it has had to be canceled 11 times, four of them during World War I and the other six during World War II.
“Canceling Wimbledon is the best decision in the interest of public health.
Having made this decision now, rather than several weeks from now, is important for everyone involved in tennis, "the tournament organizers said in a statement in April.
Wimbledon is the only one of the four Grand Slams that
has insurance against pandemics
, so it will minimize the monetary losses of this tournament that generates more than 250 million euros each year.
Wimbledon is planning his comeback in 2021. Roger Federer plays Serbian Novak Djokovic.
Photo July 14, 2019.AP
Musical shows
Tomorrowland
The most important electronic music festival, attended by some 400,000 people from all over the world, also had to be canceled in 2020. It had been held continuously for 15 years in Belgium, and was rescheduled for July 2021.
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Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Alesso, Armin Van Buuren
were some of the exponents of electronic music that were going to participate in the festival.
So far it is unknown if they will attend the concert in 2021.
The decision to cancel the festival was agreed with the Government of Belgium and with a panel of experts on the subject.
Tomorrowland
Winter was also suspended
by France due to the coronavirus pandemic.
This edition was to be held between March 14 and 21 in a ski resort, near Grenoble and the Italian border.
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Ultra Music Festival
The Ultra, an electronic music festival that has been held in Miami, Florida for 21 years, was also canceled in 2020. The decision of the organizers was made a few days after its celebration, after the governor, Ron DeSantis, declare a state of emergency for COVID-19.
Through a statement, the event organizers indicated that the festival would take place on March 26, 27 and 28, 2021.
The decision caused controversy on social networks
due to different positions on the measure of postponing the festival.
Many of the attendees had paid lodging and air flights.
The Ultra is an event that receives some 55,000 people every day from different cities in the United States and other countries.
[The goal of 20 million vaccinated in 2020 looks distant, the pandemic continues to advance]
“There is no higher priority for us than the health, safety and physical well-being of each of you, along with everyone else involved in the production of the event.
We thank you for your loyalty and patience during this difficult time, ”the organizers said in a statement.
The Ultra is an event that takes place in the city of Miami and receives about 55,000 daily.
Photo: March 31, 2019REUTERS
Coachela
Considered one of the most important music festivals in the world, it had to be initially postponed from April to October, before being definitively canceled.
This musical event that takes place in California and
receives about 125,000 people a day
had announced the participation for this edition of artists such as Rage Against the Machine, Frank Ocean, Travis Scott, Calvin Harris, Thom Yorke, Disclosure, 21 Savage , Fatboy Slim, Anitta and Jessie Reyez.
Technology
Mobile World Congress
The most important technology fair in the world was scheduled to start on February 24, 2020 in Barcelona, Spain.
Government authorities had insisted that there were no health risks when holding the event, but major technology companies canceled their participation, including:
Sony, Amazon, Facebook, Intel, Cisco, AT&T, Vodafone.
[Mental health problems are exacerbated by the pandemic. But the resources to treat it are scarce]
The suspension of the fair unleashed a long legal battle to decide who is responsible for the millionaire losses, if the participating companies or the GSMA, the event's organizing company.
Insurance does not cover contingencies such as a pandemic.
The event was scheduled to take place between March 1-4, 2021, but due to the progressive increase in COVID-19 cases, the organizers
changed the date to between June 28 and July 1, 2021 .
Geneva Motor Show
Not only was the 2020 edition canceled, but also the new year's one, due, according to the organizers, to the disinterest of the participants due to the difficult time that the automotive sector is going through.
The exhibitors
expressed through a survey their intention not to participate
and to return in 2022.
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Dec. 23, 202003: 08
“The automotive sector is currently going through a difficult phase, and exhibitors need time to recover from the effects of the pandemic.
Furthermore, it is far from certain that the current health situation would allow the organization of an event that would attract more than 600,000 visitors and 10,000 journalists next spring, "the organizers said in a statement.
Cultural events
Chinese New Year celebration
One of the most important traditional holidays in China, it was gray in 2020. And the situation does not look different for 2021.
This celebration means the largest mass movement globally
.
Hundreds of millions of people were used to traveling hundreds of miles to meet, share and eat with their loved ones;
dress in red for luck, visit temples and perform religious acts.
But for the moment they have had to cancel their vacation plans, since in towns such as Dongning, Suifenhe, Turpan and Chengdu they apply emergency measures, social distancing and massive tests for the existence of a coronavirus outbreak.
[This is the real job of a contact tracker in the COVID-19 pandemic]
Faced with such a scenario, the threat of confinement is latent as at the beginning of the year, when the epidemic broke out in Wuhan on January 23, two days before this holiday.
The pandemic prevented 36 million people from traveling for the Chinese New Year holidays.
Photo: February 6, 2019 AP
Other important events that saw their 2020 editions suspended are:
San Diego Comic-Con
, an international comic convention;
Electronic Entertainment Expo
,
the industry's largest video game convention;
and
Rock in Río Lisboa
, a legendary music festival, among others.
Will the events that were rescheduled for 2021 take place?
The answer to this question will depend on how the coronavirus pandemic continues to unfold and affect globally.