San Diego Comic-Con 2020 Canceled Due to Pandemic

In an anticipated announcement, organizers of the San Diego Comic-Con acknowledged that the iconic comics and pop culture convention will be canceled for 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. SDCC will return next year from July 22-25, 2021 at the San Diego Convention Center.

This is the first time in the convention’s 50 year history that the San Diego Comic-Con, which attracts more than 150,000 fans to downtown San Diego, will not be held. The decision to cancel the convention, one of the most famous pop culture conventions in the world, comes in the aftermath of cancellations and postponements of such comics/pop culture events as Emerald City Comic Con, Toronto Comic Arts Fest, MoCCA Arts Fest, and such book industry events as Book Expo and BookCon.

Fans and exhibitors are being offered the options of a refund or to transfer their badges or exhibitor payments to the 2021 event. Comic-Con International will contact badge holders and exhibitors in the next few weeks. Hotel reservation deposits will be refunded as well.

In addition, WonderCon Anaheim, which was scheduled to be held April 10-11, 2020, and which is also organized by Comic-Con International, has also been canceled. WonderCon will return to the Anaheim Convention Center March 26-28, 2021.

Comic-Con International announced that renovations around the opening of the Comic-Con Museum at Balboa Park have also been affected by the pandemic. Completion of the renovations will be “rephased,” and new building plans and information about the opening of the museum will be released in the coming months.

CCI: International spokesperson David Glanzer said, “Extraordinary times require extraordinary measures and while we are saddened to take this action, we know it is the right decision. We eagerly look forward to the time when we can all meet again and share in the community we all love and enjoy.”