The streets of San Diego will be quiet again this summer, with the news that Comic-Con International has once again cancelled 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 that 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.”
