The summer solstice has been celebrated at Stonehenge for thousands of years. And now, the event is going online for the first time.
The ancient and mystical site in Wiltshire, England has been closed since March 18 due to the coronavirus pandemic and will remain so for this year’s summer solstice celebrations. However, the thousands of tourists who usually visit to see the sunrise on the longest day of the year will now have a livestream to view instead.
“We are very sorry to be the bearers of this news today,” Stonehenge director Nichola Tasker said in a statement. “We have consulted widely on whether we could have proceeded safely and we would have dearly liked to host the event as per usual, but sadly, in the end, we feel we have no choice but to cancel.”
“We hope that our livestream offers an alternative opportunity for people near and far to connect with this spiritual place at such a special time of year and we look forward to welcoming everyone back next year,” Tasker added.
The world heritage site is believed to have been a place of worship and celebration for thousands of years. Stonehenge’s summer solstice event typically runs from June 20-21.
According to English Heritage, the summer solstice will be livestreamed on June 21 local time this year.
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