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San Diego Comic-Con 2020 is officially canceled due to coronavirus

Crowd inside the Comic-Con 2019
Fans gather inside the San Diego Convention Center for Comic-Con 2019.
(Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
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San Diego Comic-Con 2020 has been canceled for the first time in the event’s 50-year history.

Comic-Con International announced Friday that its annual pop-culture convention will not be held this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. The event, which draws more than 135,000 attendees in and around the San Diego Convention Center each year, will return July 22-25, 2021.

Comic-Con had been holding off on its decision in hopes the situation around COVID-19 would improve by summer. But with California officials indicating the state’s restriction on large gatherings will continue into the summer months, expectations were that an event like San Diego Comic-Con would not be able to proceed.

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

Attendees who had purchased badges for SDCC 2020 will receive an email with instructions on how to request a refund or transfer their badges to Comic-Con 2021. Those who had already made hotel reservations through Comic-Con’s official affiliate, onPeak, will have their deposits refunded automatically.

CCI also announced that WonderCon Anaheim, which had previously been postponed, will return to the Anaheim Convention Center March 26-28, 2021.

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