Despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the organizers behind San Diego Comic Con are still trying to move forward with the convention in July…
Comic-Con International — the organizing group behind San Diego Comic Con — are still trying to move forward with the upcoming convention scheduled for July regardless of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The organizers released an update on Thursday saying they were “hopeful” the yearly convention could still happen on schedule with the show expected to take place from July 23 to July 26.
As we continue to monitor the situation with local authorities, we will post updates on our social channels! Until then, remember: “A hero is an ordinary individual who finds strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” — Christopher Reeve 2/2
— San Diego Comic-Con (@Comic_Con) April 1, 2020
While WonderCon — another massive convention hosted by Comic-Con International in Anaheim, Calif. — was already postponed in April, it appears the organizers are not ready to give up on San Diego Comic Con just yet. The annual show sees more than 125,000 people descend upon the downtown San Diego Convention Center and provides the city of San Diego a massive financial windfall for local businesses.
Unfortunately, the sheer amount of people packed into such a small space over the course of a week is almost guaranteed to create problems with the COVID-19 outbreak, which is easily transmitted via person-to-person contact. Most experts have said that the current pandemic won’t likely slow down until sometime this summer and that’s only an estimation based on current efforts being made to slow down the spread of the deadly virus.
Another problem San Diego Comic Con will undoubtedly run into this year will be the studios ready to show up to the annual convention. With productions on virtually every film and television show shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic, it’s hard to even speculate what would be available to show to convention goers by July. Add to that, every major studio has taken huge financial hits during the pandemic and putting on a major marketing blitz at Comic Con isn’t a cheap endeavor.
The problem also persists for visitors coming to the convention because typically Comic-Con International will usually hold a hotel lottery at some point in March or April for guests to book accommodations. Considering the financial climate hitting most people around the world because of the pandemic, it’s tough to imagine more than 100,000 people will be ready to fork over the hefty sums required to book those hotel rooms not to mention the cost of flights to San Diego that many people book months in advance.
As of now, San Diego Comic Con is determined to move forward but that could change at any time as the coronavirus pandemic continues to change and evolve on almost a daily basis.
