PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Flower Show, which bills itself as "the nation's largest and longest-running horticultural event," will move outside next year for the first time in its nearly 200-year history because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The 2021 event will take place in FDR Park in south Philadelphia instead of downtown's Pennsylvania Convention Center, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society announced Monday.

The show attracted 250,000 visitors in 2019.

The show is scheduled for June 5-13, but organizers are worried there is no timetable for the availability of a vaccine to curb the virus, which has seen recent spikes in the city.

"We are working closely with our colleagues at Philadelphia Parks and Recreation and a host of planning experts including the Department of Public Health in Philadelphia to develop the Flower Show into a safe, beautiful, and extraordinary outdoor experience for everyone," the society said.