Japan cancels annual Sapporo Snow Festival for the first time

Japan cancels annual Sapporo Snow Festival for the first time

This is the first time since the event, held annually since 1950, has been canceled, due to the raging COVID-19 pandemic.

Visitors at the Sapporo Snow Festival 2020. (Photo: Kyodo/VNA)

There will be no annual Sapporo Snow Festival in 2021, one of Japan's biggest winter events held on the northernmost main island of Hokkaido around February.

This is the first time since the event, held annually since 1950, has been canceled, due to the raging COVID-19 pandemic.

In a statement on December 14, the festival organizers said this is a very sad decision, but it is necessary to protect the people.

Usually, during the Sapporo Snow Festival season, the city centers will be decorated with large snow and ice statues. This year, however, that will change as the festival will focus on spreading historical information online about the event as well as its winter charms.

Organizers also said that the main streets in the city are decorated with Christmas lights that will be lit for a long time.

The Snow Festival is a famous event held in early February every year in Sapporo City, Hokkaido Prefecture. This is the most anticipated snow festival of the year, welcoming about 2 million domestic and international visitors and bringing in nearly 65 billion yen ($625 million) in revenue for the city government.

During the festival days, the center of Sapporo will be filled with sculptures made from ice and snow with a height of about 15m, simulating famous characters or leading architectural masterpieces in the world.