Due to the recent increase of confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Korea, and with the social distancing level rising to 2.5 in the Seoul metropolitan area, the 2021 Idol Star Athletics Championships has been canceled.

In an official announcement of MBC on December 11, it said, "It has been decided that the 2021 New Year's Idol Star Athletics Championships will take a break as the COVID-19 situation is expected to be prolonged. Also, the social-distancing level has risen to 2.5, and the number of confirmed patients nationwide has surged."

The Previous Struggle With COVID-19

Previously, the Idol Star Athletics Championship's spin-offs held for this year's Chuseok also struggled due to the pandemic's effect. At first, the program was announced to be recorded indoors without audiences; however, the decision was rebuked as new social distancing protocols surfaced.

Back on August 28, all indoor sports for the championships have been canceled. Also, new games have been added, which they believed were manageable during that time.

The two programs which were added are "e-sports" and "dog-sports." The latter was the newest addition to the event specially created for such a special time. The event "dog-sports (Agility)" consisted of idol athletes coming together with their pet dogs. They challenged themselves in a tournament by overcoming obstacles.

Furthermore, during the Chuseok event, MBC ensured that all athletes were safely escorted throughout the recording. They separated the teams according to individual booths and maintaining social distancing measures.

The Idol Star Athletics Championships

The Idol Star Athletics Championships was first broadcasted in 2010. It features celebrities, mostly Korean pop idols and groups, competing in multi-sport events.

Over the past decade, for Lunar New Year and Chuseok, MBC has held the "Idol Star Athletics Championships" twice a year. Remarkably, this will be the first time that the event will not have a Lunar New Year special since it started.

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