BREAKING NEWS: Spain’s Malaga & other cities cancel Semana Santa celebrations to prevent Coronavirus spread

Malaga Town Hall is the latest city to confirm that it has cancelled the city’s much-loved Semana Santa celebrations over the Easter holiday to prevent the Coronavirus from spreading further. After long discussions this morning and careful analysis of the country’s crisis, Malaga’s Bishop Jesús Catalá, President of the Semana Santa Processions’ Pablo Atencia and Malaga’s Mayor Francisco de la Torre decided to cancel the much-awaited festival. The 41 processions, which were due to take place between the 5^th and 12^th April 2020, have now been suspended.

Malaga’s cancellation follows Seville’s announcement earlier this morning. The ‘monumental’ decision to cancel Semana Santa celebrations in Sevilla was made this morning at 12:15pm by Seville’s Archbishop Juan José Asenjo, Seville’s Mayor Juan Espadas and the President of Seville’s Easter Processions, Francisco Vélez. Other cities across the country that have announced the cancellation of their events throughout the day include Murcia, Cuenca, Zamora, Algeciras, amongst others.

The decision to suspend Semana Santa has been made as the country enters an Italian-style lockdown for two weeks to curb the Coronavirus spread. The cancellations of the country’s biggest religious event, however, is a huge blow for Spain’s economy, particularly the tourism and hospitality industry, as well as for the millions of Spaniards, and tourists, who attend and participate in the processions.