“Unfortunately, several setbacks in the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic make necessary the difficult decision to cancel Hamvention 2021. Hundreds of volunteers have been working to do everything necessary to bring this Hamvention to the many amateur radio enthusiasts and vendors who support the Dayton Hamvention. Vaccine distribution both in the United States and around the world is lagging behind what was planned. In addition, the emergence of a more communicable form of the COVID-19 virus increases the potential for further public health problems in the next few months. We make this difficult decision for the safety of our guests and vendors,” the executive committee said in a Facebook post.
Those who had their tickets deferred last year will be deferred again, the post said.
ARRL, the national association for amateur radio, said they were grateful for Dayton Hamvention’s incredible support and commitment to the worldwide amateur radio community. ARRL also thanked volunteers and said they are looking forward to gathering in 2022.
Dayton Hamvention annually draws more than 32,000 people from all over the world.
Dayton Hamvention has been held at the Greene County Fairgrounds and Expo Center for five years. Before then, the amateur radio convention had been held at Hara Arena. The event has been going on for nearly seven decades.
The three-day event is a convention of amateur radio operators that is generally considered the largest event of its kind on the planet. It draws people from the United States, Canada, Mexico and various parts of the world, including attendees from Australia, Japan and Russia.
The convention started on March 22, 1952 at the Biltmore Hotel in Dayton.
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