Because of the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced its decision Tuesday to cancel three pageants scheduled to take place in 2021.
The final Hill Cumorah Pageant was originally scheduled to take place in 2020 but was postponed to 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a church statement, the final season this summer has been canceled and will not be held in the future.
In place of its 2021 performance, the church will broadcast the 2019 Hill Cumorah Pageant. The broadcast, dubbed in Spanish and Portuguese, can be viewed July 9 on broadcasts.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
The Nauvoo Pageant has been rescheduled for July 5–30, 2022.
The British Pageant is scheduled for 2022 and will continue every four years under area leadership. Specific dates for the 2022 performance will be released in the future.
The Mesa Pageant has not taken place since 2018 due to the renovation of the Mesa Arizona Temple. The Mesa Pageant will continue annually under area leadership once the renovation is complete.
Church leaders announced in December 2018 that they were shutting down four of eight large Latter-day Saint pageants, including the Hill Cumorah Pageant, which began in 1937. In 2019, about 42,000 people attended eight performances in Palmyra, New York. Manti’s Mormon Miracle Pageant held its final season in 2019.
Presented on the hillside in Manchester, New York, the Hill Cumorah Pageant started with a “missionary mindset” more than 80 years ago. With the pageant coming to an end, Church leaders plan to restore the area to its natural forested state.