The Seville April Fair has officially been postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak in Spain. The mayor of the Andalusian city, Juan Espadas, for now has proposed postponing the event, which was meant to begin on 26th April, until September 2020. A new date has not yet been decided and is subject to discussions in the local council, but in any case, the event will not be held before the summer and the aim is to plan the event so that it can coincide with the “Feria de San Miguel” due to take place at the beginning of September. If no alternative date can be found, the event will be cancelled until next year.
This forced decision is historic as never before in history has the Feria de Abril been cancelled or held in any other season other than spring since it was founded in 1847. The coronavirus outbreak and the state of alarm measures still in place in Spain, however, mean that the feria in Seville is just one of the many cancelled events across Spain.
The economic impact will also be strongly felt in the city of Seville, along with the consequences of the cancellation of the annual Semana Santa celebrations. It is a huge blow to the regional capital, which sees an annual 830 million euro boost from the week-long fair. The Holy Week celebrations, which normally attract an extra 2 million people to the Andalusian city, also contribute some 300 million euros to the local economy, meaning Seville has lost more than 1 billion euros in event cancellations alone due to the coronavirus pandemic.