One of the most popular spring events in Vancouver won't be taking place this year, due to the spread of COVID-19.

The Khalsa Diwan Society announced today that the annual Vaisakhi parade is not going ahead on April 18.

The event attracts tens of thousands to the city's south side to celebrates the spring harvest in Punjab, as well as the founding of the Khalsa.

Society president Malkiat Singh Dhami said in a statement that it's the first cancellation in the 41 years that the parade has been held in Vancouver.

In addition, the society has pulled the plug on the Babar Shaheed memorial annual sports tournament, which was scheduled from May 16 to 18.

"As both of these events take many hours of planning by the volunteers and the municipal staff, these decisions were very difficult to make," Dhami stated.

The Ross Street temple, a.k.a. Gurdwara Sahib, is continuing with its regular functions while adhering to Ministry of Health guidelines to keep gatherings to a maximum of 250 people.

On March 12,  Gurdwara Sahib Dasmesh Darbar announced that it was cancelling its annual Surrey Vaisakhi Khalsa Parade scheduled for April 25 in Surrey also due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

B.C. has confirmed 73 cases of COVID-19.

Vaisakhi, like the Chinese New Year parade, normally attracts a large number of politicians. Below are some photos of politicians who've attended past parades.