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Tempe cancels Ironman, arts festival

Posted 11/18/20

The city of Tempe is canceling two upcoming events, the result of increasing COVID-19 cases and restrictions.

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Independent Newsmedia

Tempe cancels Ironman, arts festival

Posted

The city of Tempe is canceling two upcoming events, the result of increasing COVID-19 cases and restrictions.

The Ironman Arizona triathlon scheduled for this weekend was not granted a permit by the city, and the annual Festival of the Arts also was canceled.

In announcing the decision, Tempe officials citied Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey’s executive orders that require cities or towns to approve of events that draw more than 50 people.

Ironman Arizona typically draws hundreds of competitors and more spectators, while thousands flood Tempe’s downtown streets for the Festival of the Arts. The East Valley city did allow a half Ironman event — one that featured swimming in Tempe Town Lake, biking and running — to occur in October, but officials said it granted the permit in that case because case counts were substantially lower a month ago.

As COVID-19 cases in the Valley have continued to increase, Tempe’s Special Events Task Force decided late last week not to issue permits to either event.