San Diego Comic-Con Will Return in November With a ‘Smaller In-Person Event’

[playahaitian]

San Diego Comic-Con Will Return in November With a ‘Smaller In-Person Event’
By Devon Ivie@devonsaysrelax
Photo: Chris Delmas/AFP via Getty Images

With the coronavirus canceling all fun and joy in 2020, San Diego Comic-Con is becoming one of the first major public events to attempt something for 2021 as the country’s vaccine rollout rumbles on. In a statement posted to its social-media accounts today, the famed convention announced that an in-person event is being planned for later this year, although the specific logistics have yet to be confirmed. “While we lament the postponement of the in-person Comic-Con, our commitment to this community of fans and our celebration of comics and the related popular arts endures as an important part of who we are,” the statement read. “As the timing and scope of our larger event factored greatly into our decision to postpone, we believe that launching a smaller in-person event at a later time may be a safe alternative. For this reason, we are happy to announce that San Diego Comic Convention is planning to present a three-day in-person convention in San Diego in November. At this time, we are still working on specific details as to attendance capacity, badge cost, and related information, and those details will be forthcoming.”



San Diego Comic-Con, for the first time in 50 years, canceled its in-person July 2020 convention due to the ongoing pandemic, instead adapting to a multiday online event. Its spring 2021 WonderCon was also canceled in favor of a free virtual experience for fans, as well as its standard July 2021 convention. This November event will serve as a bonus extension of the Comic-Con experience. “The past several months have taken a great toll on both families and friends, and we hope this effort is a small move toward a return to gathering as a community to not only celebrate popular art, but also friendship, education, and the enduring spirit of the fandom that is so much a part of Comic-Con,” the statement added. “We thank you all for your continued and unwavering support during these most challenging times.” We already can’t wait for the booths selling ridiculously overpriced swag.

 

[playahaitian]

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[playahaitian]

Comic-Con In-Person Event Pushed to 2022

By
Mercedes Milligan
Published on March 1, 2021

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The streets of San Diego will be quiet again this summer, with the news that Comic-Con International has once again canceled the in-person version of its mega event, and will instead present a 2021 edition of Comic-Con@Home from July 23-25. Attendee badges which were rolled over to 2021 will be automatically transferred to 2022 (unless a refund is requested). The decision follows the recent announcement that sibling event WonderCon in Anaheim would also be replaced with WonderCon@Home, running free of admission March 26-27.

“It is the policy of the organization to continue to closely monitor information from local and national healthcare officials as it pertains to the COVID-19 pandemic. Never could we have imagined what the world experienced in 2020 and continues to experience today. While we are buoyed by the rollout of the vaccine and the growing number of individuals being inoculated, it appears that July will still be too early to safely hold an in-person event of the magnitude of Comic-Con. For this reason, we have made the challenging decision to postpone Comic-Con 2021 as an in-person gathering until our 2022 dates, and once again hold this year’s celebration as the free online Comic-Con@Home. Unfortunately, the challenges of this past year and the multiple postponements of our two largest events have left us with limited financial resources, so this year the online experience will be reduced to a three-day event, spanning July 23-25, 2021.”

The organizers added that while a massive con is not feasible this year, they are looking into launching a smaller in-person show later this year. Dubbed the San Diego Comic Convention, details of the three-day November convention will be made available on comic-con.org as plans develop.

“The past several months have taken a great toll on both families and friends, and we hope this effort is a small move toward a return to gathering as a community to not only celebrate popular art, but also friendship, education, and the enduring spirit of the fandom that is so much a part of Comic-Con. We thank you all for your continued and unwavering support during these most challenging times.”

Homepage - Comic-Con

Immerse yourself in worlds of fandom, make unforgettable memories, and join in the unmatched community that is Comic-Con!

www.comic-con.org

 

[ThaBurgerPimp]

^^^Probably might do the same with E3

 

[playahaitian]

^^^Probably might do the same with E3

apparently this is NOT being well recived

Comic-Con organizers defend holding in-person convention over Thanksgiving weekend

Organizers of the pop culture convention came under fire for scheduling an in-person event over Thanksgiving.
By Nick Romano
March 29, 2021 at 10:08 AM EDT


It turns out prospective Comic-Con attendees have a problem with being forced to choose between finally going to San Diego for the convention and spending what, for many, will be their first Thanksgiving holiday with family since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Who knew?

The organizers of San Diego Comic-Con have come out to explain their decision to hold a shorter in-person convention over Thanksgiving weekend in November, an announcement made on Saturday over their official website that ruffled a lot of feathers.

Comic-Con usually takes place during the summer at the San Diego Convention Center in California with a four-day slate of panels, booths, activations, and other pop culture-y events. This year, what is billed as a "Comic-Con Special Edition" will take place over three days from Friday, Nov. 26 to Sunday, Nov. 28.



The decision to hold the convention on Thanksgiving weekend was "driven by a number of factors," according to a new statement from organizers. One of them was determining "how best to effectively and safely produce events in light of current health concerns with the least negative impact on attendees."

The statement notes organizers don't even know yet if it's actually feasible to host an in-person event this year, as we're all still dealing with the pandemic. Last year's convention was canceled due to COVID-19, as was the bigger planned convention for this July.

"As conventions and events have had to cancel their in-person shows or have converted to virtual formats during the pandemic, some have been postponed to later years while others have been rescheduled to the later part of 2021, resulting in a very packed Convention Center calendar," organizers noted.

"When reviewing dates for an in-person event, it was clear that available meeting and exhibit space would limit our options," they continued. "Of the dates presented with the fewest restrictions, Friday through Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend seemed to be the best balance of available space and our envisioned event. As longtime fans ourselves, we have attended many conventions over that holiday weekend, opting to spend Thanksgiving day with family and the rest of the weekend with friends and our families of choice. While this is not unusual in the convention trade, we understand this choice is not optimal for everyone."

"So they scheduled #SDCC on the same weekend as the first chance most families will (hopefully) be fully able to celebrate Thanksgiving in two years. See you in 2022!" Star Wars: Light of the Jedi author Charles Soule tweeted of the initial news.

With the prospect of increased vaccinations allowing for families to safely gather this holiday season, the criticism posed to Comic-Con organizers didn't stop there. Many in the industry took issue with this current planning.

Roswell, New Mexico creator and former showrunner Carina Adly MacKenzie tweeted, "So many people go to Comic-Con for fun, but so many people also go for work. We all missed Thanksgiving with our families in 2020. Could we… not?"

Linda Ge, a writer on the CW's Kung Fu, wrote, "Does Comic-Con realize that most people didn't get to spend last Thanksgiving with their families because of the pandemic?"

"Sure. Make it during the one non-denominational fall holiday weekend in U.S., w/ always peak airfare prices. And I'm sure A-list celebs will LOVE doing this. Black Friday, indeed," author Tara Bennett tweeted.

"My family missed Thanksgiving last year because of the pandemic," tweeted comic book writer Dan Slott. "This year, we'll all be vaccinated. There's no way I'd be attending any event instead of spending that time with them. Even if everything were magically back to normal... I can't imagine fans and pros who celebrate Thanksgiving in the U.S. feeling differently."

Further in their statement, organizers said that Comic-Con Special Edition was "never intended to be the large gathering reflective of the summer event," but rather "a shorter event" to start "slowly and cautiously" meeting fan desires for an in-person show.
"We understand that due to potential travel-based restrictions and challenges, Comic-Con Special Edition may be an event attended mostly by fans more easily able to travel to San Diego," they also said.

 

[playahaitian]

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[playahaitian]

 

[theoriginalgreatone]

Hmmm

 

[mariano42]

SDCC got pressured by San Diego politicians and local businesses. This is the only thing that draws money to the city so they're trying to just have anything to get some money. IMHO it's pointless to have it this year.