Hiroshima Flower Festival To be Held, But Not As We Know It

The 2021 Hiroshima Flower Festival will go ahead, albeit in a very different form than we are used to, despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it was announced January 27.

The event, which was canceled last year for the first time in its 44 year history, will be held as usual during Golden Week, May 3-5, but it will be a very much scaled back affair. The main festival will move from Peace Boulevard to the site of the former baseball stadium across the road from the Hiroshima A-bomb Dome and most of the big events, including the parades and big stage performances will not be happening.

A ceremony held on the site of the former baseball stadium site will streamed online and the symbolic “Flower Tower” as well as flowers and plants will be displayed in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. Peace Boulevard and Chuo-dori will be transformed into a “Flower Road”.

Giving the many, many local clubs and organizations that will miss out on the parade opportunities to broadcast message is also being considered. Organizers hope that the event will give the citizens a feeling of hope during this tough time.

Further announcements will be published on the Flower Festival website.

Source: Chugoku Shimbun