Tara Weber

BNN Bloomberg Western Bureau Chief

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The Calgary Stampede will not go on this year after the event’s board announced Thursday that it has cancelled its 2020 festival. 

The decision marks the first time in almost a century that the show won’t go on. The Calgary Stampede has taken place every year since 1923, including during the Great Depression, World War II and the local 2013 floods, when large parts of the Stampede Grounds were destroyed just one month before the gates opened. 

The city’s call to pull the plug on the 2020 Stampede comes as many cities – including Calgary - have closed non-essential services and banned large gatherings to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. The city itself had been quiet on matter before the announcement, but had already cancelled all events until June 30. 

“It’s almost impossible to imagine a summer without it,” Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi said in a statement. “But these are extraordinary times, and the Stampede has done what they always do: put the community first.”

“I’m sad to not be at my tenth parade this year. But we’ll dust ourselves off and come back even better. Together.”

Stampede president and chairman of the board Dana Peers added in a release that “the cancellation of our annual event comes with our community and public health and safety front of mind.”

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney tweeted shortly after the announcement that the cancellation was "made in the best interests of public safety."

Lead-up events, such as the canvas tarp auction had already been cancelled and the Stampede temporarily laid off close to 900 staff — around 80 per cent of its workforce – in March. 

The Stampede is a major driver of the Calgary economy. The Conference Board of Canada said the event brought in $449.8 million for the city in 2019, bolstering the city’s restaurants, bars and hotels. Its cancellation couldn’t come at a worse time for Calgary’s already battered economy. The province of Alberta is being hurt by record-low oil prices,  a pull-back in capital spending, layoffs at many energy companies, and an increase in already-high downtown office vacancies.

Approximately a million people from all over Canada and the world come to Calgary to celebrate in pretty close quarters over the 10 days the festival takes place.

The city’s emergency managers said that the COVID-19 safety protocols left little choice but to cancel the event.

“This is hard, but we need to make these types of decisions right now in order to stay safe and move forward,” Tom Sampson, chief of the Calgary Emergency Management Agency said in a release.

“It’s not what anyone wants to see happen but it’s pretty much mandatory at this time, and we applaud the Stampede for putting the safety of all Calgarians and their guests first.”