In the 97 years since it became an annual event in 1923, the Calgary Stampede has survived wars, floods, and the Great Depression, but it couldn't survive a tiny, little virus that can't be seen by the human eye.  

Today (April 23) Dana Peers, the President and Chairman of the Board of the Calgary Stampede announced that the event has been cancelled for 2020 because of the coronavirus.

"On account of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Chief Medical Officer of Health of Alberta has banned all gatherings of more than 15 people for an indefinite period of time, and the City of Calgary has declared a state of local emergency," Peers said.  "These steps, as well as our continuing concern for the health and well-being of our community, means we are unable to host the 2020 edition of the Calgary Stampede."

Peers said the announcement was an extremely difficult one to share but said it was the right thing to do.  "As a community celebration, the cancellation of our annual event comes with our community and public health and safety front of mind."

Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi called the Stampede,  "a critical part of who we are as Calgarians.  It's almost impossible to imagine a summer without it."  

Nenshi said however that these are extraordinary times and that the Stampede has always put the community first.  "This one's tough," said Nenshi. "I remember standing at this podium seven years ago and talking about how, though we only had two weeks, come hell or high water, the Calgary Stampede would go on.  I remember thinking to myself at that time, 'you know, even if we just have a parade on high ground, we can at least say we had the Stampede.'  I remember at the time my colleagues on the Stampede Board saying, 'no, we'll have the Stampede.'  And, we did."

But Nenshi says COVID-19 is different and the pandemic is affecting everyone around the world.  

The head of the Calgary Emergency Management team Tom Sampson said most people would rather deny a hard choice than to face it but in this case, there was no choice.  "This was mandatory.  It wasn't an option and it was a decision that needed to take place.  So thank you to the Calgary Stampede for being such a responsible member of our community."

The economic impact the Stampede, the city, and the businesses that rely on those 10 days each year will be enormous.  Peers said each year the Stampede adds more than $540 million to the Alberta economy and $700 million to the economy of Canada.  

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