Attendees at the West Hollywood Halloween Carnaval – known as the world’s largest Halloween street party. West Hollywood, California. October 31, 2016. According to the organizers the event attracted an estimated 500,000 people. (Photo by Ronen Tivony/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
West Hollywood's famous Halloween Carnaval has been cancelled for 2021, marking the second year in a row that the event will not happen due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
In an online statement, the city announced the cancellation of one of the biggest Halloween events in SoCal "in accordance with protecting health and safety." West Hollywood is still in a declared local emergency due to COVID-19.
The Halloween Carnaval was launched in 1987, and provides an experience full of "phenomenal costumes, entertainment, culture, and self-expression with a myriad of observers, revelers, exhibitionists, and performers" for visitors.
This year, West Hollywood remains "focused on efforts to protect public health and safety" amid rising cases.
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Los Angeles County is in the midst of a spike in COVID-19 cases, with 2,277 new cases reported on Wednesday alone, 38 new deaths and 1,699 people in the hospital.
In pre-pandemic years, Santa Monica Boulevard was shut down to traffic for the Halloween Carnaval, allowing the hundreds of thousands of people who typically attend the annual event to wander for the spooky celebration.
In 2020, those crowds were nowhere to be found, and the boulevard was filled with cars rather than people. Smaller groups walked around and ate outside while wearing costumes, but the city warned about enforcing a curfew if larger groups gathered.
