The Sao Paulo Mayor Bruno Covas has announced that the traditional samba school parades originally scheduled for February 2021 would instead take place in late May or July 2021 due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Making this known at a press conference, he said, “We have spoken with the samba schools and with the street performance groups. Everyone understood that it is not feasible to throw a party like we do every year, with so many people, with the pandemic,” he said.

Other cities that are traditionally associated with the world famous Brazilian Carnival, such as Salvador and Rio de Janeiro, have not yet confirmed if their festivities will take place in 2021.

The mayor said that he would speak with other city governments to synchronize the new dates for Carnival festivities.

The Sao Paulo Carnival is one of the largest in the country, and according to Covas, in February of this year, 15 million people attended the celebrations.