Early last year, as international lockdowns upended daily life, they took with them, one by one, many of the significant cultural and sporting events that dot the calendar each year. The N.B.A. suspended its season, the French Open was postponed for several months, and the Tokyo Olympics were delayed a year. The future of the Glastonbury Festival and the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival was in doubt. It was a bleak time.
Recently, as conditions in many places worldwide have slowly begun to improve and as countries have begun mass vaccination campaigns, some events and cultural staples have made plans to return, albeit with modifications. While few occasions, if any, have plans to go ahead free of restrictions this year, some are taking a hybrid approach. Others remain postponed or canceled.
Here’s the status of some of the significant events around the world.
Sports: The Olympics are full steam ahead.
The Tokyo Olympics, which were delayed for a year because of the coronavirus pandemic, began on July 23 with an opening ceremony. The bulk of the athletic events will start the next day. The first round of Wimbledon begins on June 28 and will run through mid-July. Officials said they were working toward a spectator capacity of at least 25 percent. The 125th Boston Marathon, usually held in April, is now scheduled for Oct. 11, and the 50th New York City Marathon is set for Nov. 7.
The 105th Indianapolis 500 will go on as planned on May 30. Officials will allow about 135,000 spectators in — 40 percent of the venue’s capacity. The event was organized with state and local health officials and was approved by the Marion County Public Health Department, race officials said. One of the premier tennis competitions, the French Open, has been postponed one week to a new start date of May 24. The decision was made in agreement with the authorities in France and the governing bodies of international tennis, said officials, who want the tournament played in front of the most significant possible number of fans.
Music: Coachella and Glastonbury are holding off.
The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, which typically draws big headliners like Beyoncé and is an annual pilgrimage for the more than 100,000 fans who trek to Southern California, is canceled again this year. In January, organizers of the Glastonbury Festival said it would not take place this summer. The Essence Festival of Culture, which usually draws more than a half-million people to New Orleans over the Fourth of July weekend every year, will host a hybrid experience over two weekends: June 25-27 and July 2-4.
Headliners like Billie Eilish, Post Malone, and ASAP Rocky will take the stage at the Governors Ball Music Festival, scheduled for Sept. 24-26 at Citi Field in Queens. Organizers say the event will return to its regular June dates in 2022. Burning Man, the annual countercultural arts event that typically draws tens of thousands of people to the Black Rock Desert in Nevada has been canceled again this year because of the pandemic. It will return in 2022, organizers said. After being canceled last year, the Austin City Limits Music Festival, the event in the capital of Texas, is scheduled to return to Zilker Park on Oct. 1-3 and Oct. 8-10.
