Covid: Which 2021 events have been called off or delayed by the pandemic?

Split of Chelsea Flower Show and Glastonbury Festival
A number of 2021 events have fallen victim to the coronavirus pandemic. Credit: PA

During the first national lockdown last year, 2021 was the light at the end of the tunnel.

There was a real hope that the pandemic would all be over by the turn of the year and life would have returned to normal.

However the coronavirus continues to spread and although the vaccination rollout is gathering speed, England finds itself in a third nationwide lockdown.

Plans of festivals, fan-filled venues and holidays in 2021 are still on hold and more events continue to fall victim to the virus. Here's some of major events that have been affected:

This year's Chelsea Flower Show has been postponed. Credit: PA

Chelsea Flower Show

The 2021 Chelsea Flower Show is the most recent event to be impacted the pandemic. It has been postponed until September for the first time in its 108-year history.

Organisers had hoped it could go ahead in May with additional safety measures but the feat has proved too great.

The 2020 show was held virtually, while in 2019 there were 168,500 visitors over five days at the west London event.

Glastonbury Festival

Somerset's summer spectacular Glastonbury Festival has been called off for 2021 as a result of coronavirus.

The festival was due to celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2020 but the pandemic forced the Eavis family to abandon their plans. This year they've once again be forced to make the difficult decision to abandon one the the world's biggest music festivals.

Around 200,000 people partied it up back at the 2019 festival, not knowing it would be the last one for a some time.

The London Marathon in 2020 was for elite athletes only. Credit: PA

London Marathon

The 2021 London Marathon has been been postponed until October 3 this year. Usually held in April, officials are hoping to hold the biggest ever London Marathon in 9 months time.

The 2020 event went ahead but was largely scaled back. It too was held in October but only elite athletes were allowed to run and mass participation was cancelled.

More than 40,000 runners took part in the London Marathon back in 2019.

Euro 2020

The football tournament was, as its name suggests, supposed to be held in the summer of 2020 but was delayed by a whole year.

As it stands, 24 sides will compete for the trophy this summer starting on June 11.

To make things even more challenging, the tournament is being held in 12 cities across the European continent.

With varying infection rates, quarantine, and virus mutations, it remains to be seen whether the tournament will actually go ahead as planned or if it may end up being held in just one location.

England will be starting their Euro campaign against Croatia on June 13. Credit: PA

Tokyo Olympics 2020

Also pushed back by a year, the Tokyo 2020 games are set to start on July 23.

There has been much debate about whether the games should go ahead given the coronavirus pandemic.

Often celebrated because it brings together top-class athletes from all around the world, the Olympics' biggest selling point could prove to be its biggest downfall, proving to be too challenging and dangerous.

As it stands, officials are adamant that the Games will go ahead but the coming months will dictate whether 2021 will turn out to be an Olympic year.

Ones To Watch

  • The Grand National - cancelled in 2020 but there's optimism it will be back in April 2021.

  • Eurovision Song Contest - called off last year for the first time in its history but could be on our screens this May.

  • Edinburgh Festival - all five festivals were cancelled last year. The show usually held in August attracts millions from around the world. Organisers are still unsure what the 2021 festival will look like.