Tournament Considering Rose Parade Options

The Tournament of Roses is considering its options for the 2021 Rose Parade, according to Tournament president Robert Miller.

“Like everybody else, we’re aware of the governor’s safety order,” Miller said on Thursday. “We’re aware of the mass gathering situation that is being considered right now. So we believe that by end of June, early July, we’ll be in a position to make a final decision about whether or not we’ll have a parade and game this year. But if we don’t have a parade, we will have something very, very special to celebrate America’s new year’s celebration that we’ll announce at a later date.”

The parade and Rose Bowl Game bring in tourism dollars and local hotels and restaurants see sizeable sales boosts.

For the parade to occur in its usual format the city would have to allow large gatherings to begin before 2021, to allow for the New Year’s Eve crowd on Colorado Boulevard and other pre-parade events.

But city and county officials have said large gatherings probably will not return before this year is over.

College football would have to return much earlier for the Rose Bowl Game to take place. It’s unknown if that will be possible.

The parade was canceled once before in 1942, weeks after the nation was plunged into World War II by Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor. Authorities feared that a large gathering could present another Western U.S. target. The game was moved to Durham, North Carolina.

The theme of this year’s parade is scheduled to be “Dream. Believe. Achieve.”

“Education paves the path to success with a world of opportunities achieved through knowledge, compassion and determination. Education is the great equalizer,” Miller said after he was named president of the Tournament of Roses. “As a community college educator, I have seen firsthand the life-changing miracle that education provides. As students visualize their future, education becomes the bridge to accomplish their aspirations and transform lives for generations to come.”

The Rose Bowl was canceled after the attack on Pearl Harbor and the game was moved thousands of miles away to Durham, North Carolina.

“Again, Tournament of Roses is about perseverance. It’s about strength, it’s about joy,” Miller said. “And we want to deliver that this year. And we will, there will be a very significant event on New Year’s, whether we have a parade or not the Tournament of Roses will have a gift to the country and to the world.”