Organizers of Emerald City Comic Con announced Tuesday that the annual pop culture extravaganza in Seattle will be cancelled due to ongoing concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a statement on the ECCC website, event organizers Reedpop called it an “excruciating yet necessary decision.” The event at the Washington State Convention Center was originally scheduled for March 12-15, but was pushed back to Aug. 21-23 in the hopes that the health crisis and mandated lockdowns would subside.
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But the fate of the convention, still hanging on despite the cancellation of various events around the world, looked even more questionable when Reedpop called off “Star Wars Celebration” on Monday, an event in Anaheim, Calif., scheduled for the week after ECCC.
Comic Con attracted 98,000 attendees over four days in 2019. Organizers said they will be putting on a digital event in August “to support exhibitors and connect fans with as much of the content you love as possible.”
Full statement from Emerald City Comic Con organizers Reedpop:
Emerald City Comic Con is not just an event that happens over a handful of days, it’s a community. It is OUR community. It is made up of thousands of people creating and sharing their passions. For almost two decades, what has made ECCC so special are the people, their stories, and their experiences. We care about you. We care about your safety. That will always come first.
Because of this, and after many discussions with the convention center, exhibitors, artists and fans, we have made the excruciating yet necessary decision to cancel Emerald City Comic Con 2020 in Seattle.
We’re still here though! We will be putting on a digital event in August to support exhibitors and connect fans with as much of the content you love as possible. For more information on what is available digitally now, our next physical show in Seattle, and everything in between, keep up with Emerald City Comic Con’s social channels and YouTube.com/ReedPop.
All tickets transferred from ECCC March 2020 to August 2020 will be automatically refunded by June 29, 2020; no action is needed on your part. We will have more information on 2021 tickets and their on-sale date in the Fall.
ECCC will return. We will connect with our favorite artists and creators again. We will cheer for our heroes again. We will discover new fandoms and meet new friends again. We will wear and take pictures of awesome cosplay again. We will celebrate what we love with each other again.
Our hearts, as always, remain with you all. Thank you for sticking with us. Thank you for your patience. Thank you for your understanding. Stay safe, stay healthy and take care of yourselves and each other.
We’ll see you in August for our digital celebration, and we cannot wait to welcome you all home in person March 4-7, 2021.
