The annual Sapporo Snow Festival in Hokkaido, northern Japan, will be held online next year due to a surge in coronavirus infections.

This is the first time in its 70-year history that the festival, usually held at Odori Park, will effectively be cancelled.

The festival is held every year from January to February and usually draws about 2 million visitors.

After the COVID-19 outbreak, the 2021 event was due to be scaled down, and feature only small- and medium-sized snow sculptures.

But the organizing committee announced on Monday that the festival will be held entirely online.

It cited a resurgence in infections. It also said that even a scaled-down festival would attract crowds over a short period of time.

The organizing committee said it now plans to create videos of attractions in Sapporo, including past festivals, and show them on its website and electronic billboards that will be set up across the city.

It will also organize a contest of photos featuring snow, for which it will accept submissions from the public.