San Diego Comic-Con Officially Cancelled
It’s now official: there will be no Comic-Con in San Diego this year.
San Diego Comic Convention made the announcement on their blog earlier today. As the pandemic quarantine continues to hold everyone in place, Comic-Con, scheduled for July 23-26, has been cancelled.
“Extraordinary times require extraordinary measures and while we are saddened to take this action, we know it is the right decision,” said David Glanzer, spokesperson for the organization. “We eagerly look forward to the time when we can all meet again and share in the community we all love and enjoy.”
The announcement also makes official the cancellation of WonderCon in Anaheim. That event, originally scheduled for April 10-12 this year, was initially postponed with the hopes of rescheduling to later this year. The next WonderCon will now take place March 26-28, 2021.
The next dates for San Diego will be July 22-25, 2021, and those with 2020 badges will have the option of getting a refund or transferring the badge to the 2021 event. Badge holders will be contacted via e-mail to determine which choice they’d like to make. Any who made hotel reservations through SDCC’s affiliate onPeak will get automatic refunds.
The decision follows a high amount of speculation on whether or not SDCC was going to move forward as planned, especially since the San Diego Convention Center and Golden Hall have both been converted into emergency shelters for the city’s homeless community. The San Diego Union-Tribune quoted Joe Terzi, CEO of the San Diego Tourism Authority:
“We have been in constant contact with Comic-Con, which just went through a very difficult situation with Wonder Con,” Terzi said. “In our last conversation, which was last week, they said it’s business as usual and they continue to plan for July in San Diego. Logistically, it’s a very complex event to have, and they have a lot of work they have to do but they’ve been doing it for more than 40 years. From a noticing standpoint, my belief is they would have to make a decision by June.”
Reactions are already showing up on social media, with many creators disappointed but understanding the decision. The question is now how much of an economic hit this will mean for both the San Diego business community and the genre entertainment world. SciFi4Me has reached out to the San Diego Chamber of Commerce for comment.
