As the year anniversary of lockdown due to the worldwide pandemic approaches, several high-profile events are once again making the difficult decision to cancel or postpone in-person shows for 2021. Comic Con International, parent company of San Diego Comic Con and Wonder Con, already made their announcements about their cancelling in-person events, but also included a fairy nebulous reveal of some type of small event in November.
The next big shows to make the tough but responsible choice are Anime Expo and E3, both of which would’ve taken place during the summer in Los Angeles, as well as the Lightning In A Bottle music festival, which would’ve taken place in May in Kern County.
You can read Anime Expo‘s official statement here:
E3 hasn’t officially announced yet, but an inside source confirmed to us that the 2021 physical event will not be happening.
EuroGamer had a tip from the City of Los Angeles also confirming the cancellation of the show, but also pointing out a 2022, 2023 contract is still on the table.
A recent interview with The Do Lab (Josh, Jesse, and Dede Flemming) revealed that Lightning In A Bottle music festival was also cancelling their 2021 in person event. It is actually a really important read for those who attend these large scale festivals, but might not understand how those events happen.
Other notable events such as Burning Man hasn’t made any official go / no-go calls yet. You can read Burning Man’s most recent blog post about their decision making here.