The National Western Stock Show had persevered through two world wars and a Great Depression. As the long summer of 2020 progressed, though, the prospects for the 2021 National Western Stock Show were fading fast.
COVID-19 case counts kept climbing. While promising vaccine trials were underway, it was clear that widespread inoculation wouldnât happen until well after those 16 days in January. We consulted with health experts and officials from the city and county of Denver and the state of Colorado. They confirmed what we suspected: that there would be no way to safely host even a fraction of the 700,000 visitors, participants, exhibitors, volunteers, and others who converge each year at the âSuper Bowl of Stock Shows.â