At its media conference on Wednesday, April 29, 2020, the Federal Council banned large events with more than 1000 people until the end of August. The popular classic car rally "Oldtimer in Obwalden", or O-iO for short, is therefore directly affected. All the participants with classic cars alone, plus VIPs, representatives of the authorities and sponsors, massively exceed this number. Plus thousands of spectators.
Postponement does not make sense
The organizer, Ruedi Müller, does not consider a postponement to the autumn to be sensible. The reasons: Many events have already been postponed to August and the date does not work now either. Only September and October remain. The ban could be extended. Events rescheduled to these two months will cannibalize each other. The delegates', general and members' meetings of the clubs, which have to be made up for, will also fill the calendar.
The next O-iO will therefore not take place for another year, on Saturday 22 and Whit Sunday, May 23, 2021.
Visit from Obwalden/Bernbiet still possible
Anyone interested can of course still drive their historic vehicle to Sarnen and Brienz on Whitsun (30 and 31 May 2020) - on an individual basis. There is no contribution towards expenses and nothing is organized.
The hotels have always been open and the restaurants are open on Whitsun (in accordance with the Federal Council's decision of April 29, 2020). One O-iO participant wrote to the organizer: 'I have not cancelled my hotel room and I will definitely come to Sarnen. It's not forbidden, even if O-iO doesn't take place.
This will hardly be possible for foreign participants, as the borders will probably not yet be generally open at that time.
For guests coming to Sarnen, the federal hygiene regulations must be observed without restriction. The same applies to the normal traffic and parking regulations. However, the classic car country between Sarnen and Brienz still offers many opportunities.
Further information can be found on the event website.
