New York’s Tartan Day Parade 2021 celebration cancelled due to Covid
The New York celebration of Scottish heritage, the Tartan Day Parade, has been cancelled again due to coronavirus.
The National Tartan Day New York Committee has announced that the 2021 parade will not go ahead due to restrictions on travel and the ban on large gatherings.
In a letter posted on their social media, they said: “We had hoped that, by now, we would be able to go ahead with the parade, but with the restrictions on travel, and the uncertainty surrounding the distribution of the vaccine, it is very unlikely that New York State and New York City will allow large gatherings anytime soon.
“We are so sorry. This is hugely disappointing news for us to share with you.
"The Covid-19 pandemic has been a drain on all of us forever changing all that we love to do.”
A virtual celebration will be held in its stead and participants are asked to wait for details that will be released later.
The Tartan Day Parade is normally held every year around April 6 to make the moment that the Declaration of Arbroath was signed in 1320.
April6wasdeclarednational Tartan Day by the US Senate in 1998, and from 1999 onward, pipers and marchers started at the British Consulate and paraded through the city.
Tartan Day Parade Past Grand Marshals include Sir Sean Connery, Alan Cumming, Brian Cox, Sam Heughan and Sir Billy Connolly.
The announcement from the committee concluded with: “Thank you from the bottom of our Tartan Hearts for your ongoing support.”