Staying Safe around Key Dates and Cultural Events this July

Staying Safe in the Summer

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to impact the world, July brings with it a time when a lot of social and cultural events have either been cancelled or might not be happening in quite the same way. Glastonbury Festival is usually a fixture of the summer calendar in late June (for a taste of the live acts you could have enjoyed, check out this playlist), the Wimbledon tennis championships should be coming to an exciting conclusion within the first two weeks of July, and the world-famous San Diego Comic Convention (aka Comic-Con) usually welcomes attendees later in July. And of course, July would have seen the start of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics (you can follow the latest news on the rearranged games here).

Many key events for the social, sporting or cultural calendar have already been rescheduled or are looking ahead to 2021 dates, ready for a more optimistic future when we can be more sure of people’s safety. While this year’s summer holidays may be a little less action-packed, we hope that you find some fun, safe ways to enjoy the sunshine and create some holiday magic (all while keeping a safe physical distance).

As well as heralding the start of the school summer holidays, July also includes a few notable religious and cultural dates that it may be useful to jot down in your diary.

14 – Bastille Day. France.

French National Day (as it is otherwise known) marks the anniversary of French unity and commemorates a key turning point in the French Revolution – the storming of the Bastille in Paris on the 14th July 1789. Typically, you would expect parades, fireworks and live entertainment, but this year the celebrations may look a little different depending on the degree of pandemic lockdown.

Bastille Day is a public holiday in France, so you can expect to get an out-of-office message from your French colleagues, wherever they are working from.

28 – The Hajj annual pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Islam.

The Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, the holy city in Saudi Arabia, is a journey that adult Muslims are expected to experience at least once in their lifetimes (if physically and financially able to do so). It is a multi-day event, and one of the Five Pillars of Islam.

This year’s event is expected to start on the 28th July, although restrictions relating to coronavirus may impact this year’s pilgrimage, possibly leading to its cancellation – especially considering that around two million people make the pilgrimage each year.

31 – Eid al-Adha. Islam.

This ‘festival of the sacrifice’ is celebrated following the Hajj annual pilgrimage to Mecca. It commemorates the willingness of the prophet Ibrahim to sacrifice his son, Ishmael, to Allah (Ishmael was replaced with a lamb before the sacrifice). The date varies depending on the sighting of the moon during Dhu al-Hijjah (a sacred month in the Islamic calendar). The festival takes place over up to four days and includes a public holiday in Muslim countries such as Turkey, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia, so expect an out-of-office email during this time.

If you’d like to take up language training we are offering a fully online, digital solution to cater for your training needs during the restrictions we are facing at this time. Contact us now to speak to one of our account managers and find out more about how we can help you.