Crufts 2021 now definitely canceled after postponement last November

For a long time they tried and worked that the Crufts in the second pandemic year can somehow carried out. One measure was to postpone the whole event from the original date in March to July. The largest dog fair in the world should have taken place in the middle of the summer from 15 to 18 July. At that time back in November 2020, they also expected a more positive development than we have at the moment. Even though a few weeks still pass before July, the organizers, together with their partners and the authorities, decided to forego an edition this year for the first time since 1954.

Not an easy decision as Crufts chairman Tom Mather says in the official press release: “We are very disappointed that we have had to cancel Crufts for the first time since 1954, in what would have been its 130th anniversary year, and it is a decision we have not taken lightly. We have tried desperately hard to make this year’s show happen, including the decision we took last November to postpone the event to July. However, of course this was before we were hit by the devastating second wave of the pandemic.” The welfare of all those involved persons like the competitors itself, the whole staff behind the tournament and also the spectators. That’s why they said finally goodbye to the Covid-19 version in 2021. In addition to the new event date, this would also have foreseen a partial transfer of the event to the outdoor area.

The decision was not only consultation with the partners and the authorities. In this way, the participants and spectators were also involved in the decision-making process. For this purpose, a survey was set up with opinions on when people feel comfortable going to events again. 63% of respondents did not feel comfortable attending or even attending such an event at the moment.  The next event of the Crufts is the 10th to 13th of March. But then the Crufts 2022 – with the 130th anniversary.

Source: https://www.crufts.org.uk/press-releases/crufts-2021-kennel-club-statement/