250,000 Harley-loving motorcycle enthusiasts are descending on Sturgis, South Dakota this weekend.
If government officials don't intervene, this will be the biggest publicly attended event in the United States since the pandemic started.
That said, do you think the government will try to shut it down?
Sturgis only has 7,000 year-round residents, some of whom criticized plans for the rally to go on as planned during the coronavirus pandemic at a town meeting in June, according to the AP.
The rally is typically even larger; 250,000 is the estimate from city officials who said that travel restrictions from Canada and other areas had cut down on the number of potential attendees.
“This is a huge, foolish mistake to make, to host the rally this year," resident Lynelle Chapman said at the June meeting. “The government of Sturgis needs to care most for its citizens.”
A survey reportedly taken by the city indicated that 6 in 10 residents said it should be postponed. The owner of Buffalo Chip campground told the AP, however, that the rally would go on as planned due to it being his only business for the year.
“We spend money for 355 days of the year without any return on it, hoping people show up for nine days," Rod Woodruff said. “We're a nine-day business.”
STURGIS, SD - AUGUST 6: 50th Anniversary of the World Famous Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Wide angle view of the Sturgis Dragway with rows of mortorcycles and lots of bikers Bearded in Sturgis, South Dakota on August 6, 1990. (Photo by Jim Steinfeldt/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)