Emerald City Comic Con 2020 is officially a no-go. The news came in an email from con organizers ReedPOP to attendees earlier today. In the statement, organizers state that attendees will receive refunds for their ticket purchases by late July, and that virtual events are planned to take place in August, in place of the physical convention.
Here’s ReedPOP’s full statement:
Hey ECCC fans,
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. And if you find yourself missing the act of walking up and down our show floor aisles, you can peruse this list of books from creators who were going to be in attendance at ECCC 2020 to bring a little ECCC home to you.
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.
The saga of Emerald City Comic Con 2020 has been a real roller-coaster ride. The convention was initially scheduled for mid-March. The show initially vowed to go on despite then-growing concerns over the coronavirus, particularly in Seattle’s King County. As exhibitors pulled out and con organizers offered refunds to attendees and Artists Alley exhibitors, the convention finally made the decision to postpone the show less than a week ahead of its start date.
The cancellation of the planned August show isn’t a surprise, as COVID-19 cases in Washington state are back on the rise. King County is still in a modified Phase 1 of reopening, and the likelihood of the county reaching Phase 4 by August, which would allow gatherings large enough for Emerald City Comic Con to be able to go on, is extremely low at this point.
Details on the virtual events ReedPOP will be holding in place of ECCC 2020 have yet to be revealed, but we’ll pass those on as soon as they’re available. Next year’s Emerald City Comic Con will take place on March 4th through 7th.
