San Diego Comic-Con, one of the premier annual fan conventions, is cancelled for the first time in its 50 years of operation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Comic-Con was scheduled to run July 23-26 this year. The organizers said Comic-Con would return to the San Diego Convention Center July 23-26 in 2021.
According to the statement on the San Diego Comic-Con website, the organizers also said WonderCon Anaheim, which scheduled for April 10-12, 2020, will return to the Anaheim Convention Center from March 26-28, 2021.
San Diego Comic-Con organizers said fans who already purchased badges for the 2020 convention can request a refund or transfer their badges to next year’s Comic-Con. The same goes for exhibitors. Emails will be sent to badge holders and exhibitors next week with instructions.
The statement on San Diego Comic-Con’s website also said the official hotel affiliate, onPeak, will cancel all hotel reservations and refund deposits made through their service. This will be done automatically, so there’s no need for anyone who booked rooms to do anything.
EXTRAORDINARY TIMES
“Extraordinary times require extraordinary measures and while we are saddened to take this action, we know it is the right decision,” said David Glanzer, San Diego Comic-Con’s Chief Communications and Strategy Officer. “We eagerly look forward to the time when we can all meet again and share in the community we all love and enjoy.”
The 2020 convention would have been the 51st run of San Diego Comic-Con. The first con was held in 1970 and has grown to a massive event with more than 130,000 attendees. The cancellation will be a financial blow to the organizers, as well as local businesses and the city of San Diego who depend on the more than $180 million that Comic-Con brings in each year.
San Diego Comic-Con joins a long list of events already cancelled due to the pandemic. Sadly, the list of cancellations is likely grow. 2020 really sucks.
