Another big name gets added to the list of events falling victim to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic: San Diego Comic-Con. For the first time in its 50 year history, Comic-Con (otherwise known as SDCC), won’t be happening. In an announcement on the official SDCC website and Twitter account, the organizers, Comic-Con International, noted that they initially hesitated to cancel the event, which was to take place on July 22-26, 2020. They had hoped that concerns over the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic would lessen by summer, but as this is increasingly unlikely, they’ve decided to call it off. Similarly, the affiliated Wondercon Anaheim convention, which was scheduled for April 10-12, 2020, was also cancelled. Both events will return in 2021. San Diego Comic-Con will be back on July 22-25, 2021, and Wondercon Anaheim will be moved to March 26-28, 2021.
Would-be attendees that purchased a badge for San Diego Comic-Con will be able to request a refund or transfer their purchase to 2021’s San Diego Comic-Con. Â Similarly, attendees who booked hotels through onPeak, the SDCC official hotel affiliate, will automatically be refunded once their bookings have been cancelled.
The cancellations came in just shortly before Anime Expo announced its own cancellation. Both events, as well as Wondercon, were major pop cultural happenings in the United States. Founded in 1970 as the Golden State Comic Book Convention, San Diego Comic-Con, in particular, has grown in size and prominence as comic book adaptations have dominated Hollywood’s earnings over the past decade. Last year over 130,000 people attended to and walk the show floor, see or do cosplay, and get exclusive announcements and merchandise related to comic books and more. 2020 marks the first year in its history that the show has had to be cancelled.
