Thousands gather in S.D. for annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally
Thousands of bikers rode through the streets for the opening day of the 80th annual Sturgis Motorcycle rally Friday, Aug. 7, 2020, in Sturgis, S.D. (AP Photo/Stephen Groves)
OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 10:48 AM PT — Saturday, August 8, 2020
Motorcyclists from across the country gathered amid the coronavirus pandemic to celebrate the 80th Annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota. The event, which kicked off on Friday, is expected to draw 250,000 motorcycle enthusiasts over the course of the 10-day rally.
A big welcome to all the bikers visiting Hill City for the @SturgisRally! pic.twitter.com/vLIaW8MnYz
— Pennington County SO (@PennCoSheriff) August 8, 2020
A city spokeswoman said opening weekend is usually the busiest. The rally reportedly brings in $800 million for the state’s economy.
Rally attendees have expressed they’re largely not concerned with the coronavirus.
Thousands of bikers rode through the streets for the opening day of the 80th annual Sturgis Motorcycle rally Friday, Aug. 7, 2020, in Sturgis, S.D. (AP Photo/Stephen Groves)
“No, we didn’t take any precautions, as we normally don’t. We think the majority of this situation is manufactured, there’s ulterior motives behind it. So, we’re not concerned and we’re happy to be in a place that has a lot of like-minded people, because everybody seems to be in the same mindset as us and we’re not concerned.” – Jim Busch, rally attendee
HAPPENING NOW Sturgis South Dakota’s 80th Annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally (credit viewer) #Sturgis #SouthDakota pic.twitter.com/W7thi8y1CJ
— Connor Matteson (@mattesontv) August 8, 2020
South Dakota has been reporting low infection numbers since the start of the pandemic, having just over 9,000 active cases.