Salisbury: The coronavirus pandemic has scuttled summer solstice celebrations at Stonehenge, a highlight of the year for thousands of British pagans, druids and assorted revelers.
English Heritage, which looks after the ancient stone circle, says restrictions on public events to slow the spread of the virus makes it impossible to hold the event.
It said it had decided to cancel the gathering "after much deliberation and in consultation with our partners in the police and the emergency services, the druid and pagan community and others."
English Heritage says it will instead stream the solstice sunrise online this Sunday (21 June).
"Really, this is the first digital solstice," says Susan Greaney, senior properties historian.
"We know that solstice is really important for most people, and we know that people are going to be very sad that they can't come to celebrate this year. So, we're going to be live streaming the event with a camera, set up here in the middle of the stone circle so that people can see the sunrise from home."
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Greaney says two live cameras will be roaming the ancient site, one in a fixed position, waiting to catch the sunrise at around 03:52 GMT Sunday morning.
It will be broadcast on English Heritage's social media accounts, including its Facebook page.
Of course, organizers have no control over the weather, so there's a chance sunrise could be obscured by cloud cover.
Thousands of people usually gather to watch the sunrise behind the Neolithic monument in southwest England on the Northern Hemisphere's longest day of the year.
Stonehenge, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is believed to be 4,500 years old. It is known for its alignment with the movements of the sun.
"I think there's something about stepping outside our kind of modern, everyday world and coming to a monument that you know has been built four and a half thousand years ago to celebrate the exact same event that you're able to witness today," says Greaney.
English Heritage says it plans to reopen Stonehenge in July, as UK authorities gradually lift lockdown measures imposed to halt the spread of COVID-19.
But there'll be additional safety measures in place, including reduced visitor numbers, increased cleaning regimes, hand sanitiser use across sites, and barriers to help with social distancing.
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(With inputs from AP)
