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Major "Cons" postponed or canceled


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Hi people!

               I thought we should have a thread listing of cons that are either postponed or cancelled because of this health emergency we're having here in our country.

 

Anime Boston - Cancelled    https://www.animeboston.com/news/article/817

 

Sakura-Con - Cancelled       http://sakuracon.org/

 

A-Con 31 - Postponed        https://www.a-kon.com/

 

 

 

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25 minutes ago, Daniel Perales said:

Hi people!

               I thought we should have a thread listing of cons that are either postponed or cancelled because of this health emergency we're having here in our country.

 

Anime Boston - Cancelled    https://www.animeboston.com/news/article/817

 

Sakura-Con - Cancelled       http://sakuracon.org/

 

A-Con 31 - Postponed        https://www.a-kon.com/

 

 

 

I can do better: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ChCKFvR7hF_eh3BWdquxavLO_BThhUHvTvoEGdPw6bY/edit

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Just now, Daniel Perales said:

Another major one...

 

Anime Central - Cancelled              https://www.acen.org/cancellation-of-anime-central-2020/

 

 

 

Yup.. I saw it going down. People got so butthurt.. it was ridiculous.

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Attendance wise, Anime North looks like a major convention, so it can be added to the list of cancelled or postponed conventions until next year.  

(Anime Frontier, a convention that was going to debut this year will also have to wait until next year.  Both conventions would have been scheduled for May).

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3 hours ago, lightningneko said:

Attendance wise, Anime North looks like a major convention, so it can be added to the list of cancelled or postponed conventions until next year.  

(Anime Frontier, a convention that was going to debut this year will also have to wait until next year.  Both conventions would have been scheduled for May).

Hi!

     You're right. Anime North falls under the "Major conventions" category, but it's in Canada, and I was leaning more on conventions in the US.  Anyway, it seems like May is the outer fringe of dates when the cancellations or postponements of cons and events are taking place.

      I haven't seen or heard of any cons cancelling or postponing from June on yet.

 

 

 

 

Edited by Daniel Perales
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On 3/25/2020 at 5:54 PM, Daniel Perales said:

Hi!

     You're right. Anime North falls under the "Major conventions" category, but it's in Canada, and I was leaning more on conventions in the US.  Anyway, it seems like May is the outer fringe of dates when the cancellations or postponements of cons and events are taking place.

      I haven't seen or heard of any cons cancelling or postponing from June on yet.

 

 

 

 

E3 (Electronics Entertainment Expo) was cancelled and that's in June....

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On 3/30/2020 at 7:17 PM, Daniel Perales said:

Yeah that sucks for those that wanted to go... I didn't want to, but it still sucks.

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  • 3 weeks later...
20 minutes ago, TomDent said:

Wow! 

  Supposedly like a week before Otakon, too. It's getting there. If Otakon cancels, that would leave me with only 2 conventions left to go this year (New York Comic Con & Anime NYC).

20 minutes ago, TomDent said:

 

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I was just reading an article on Variety about the cancellation of SDCC. The governor of California is also saying that:

“The prospect of mass gatherings is negligible at best until we get to herd immunity and we get to a vaccine,” Newsom said. “So large-scale events that bring in hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of strangers, all together across every conceivable difference, health and otherwise, is not in the cards based upon our current guidelines and current expectations.”   

Newsom acknowledged that expectations can change, and he resisted setting any sort of timeline.

But, he added, “When you suggest June, July, August, it is unlikely.”

 

Which I take it means that it's most likely that Anime Expo will be cancelled as well.

 

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4 hours ago, Daniel Perales said:

I was just reading an article on Variety about the cancellation of SDCC. The governor of California is also saying that:

“The prospect of mass gatherings is negligible at best until we get to herd immunity and we get to a vaccine,” Newsom said. “So large-scale events that bring in hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of strangers, all together across every conceivable difference, health and otherwise, is not in the cards based upon our current guidelines and current expectations.”   

Newsom acknowledged that expectations can change, and he resisted setting any sort of timeline.

But, he added, “When you suggest June, July, August, it is unlikely.”

 

Which I take it means that it's most likely that Anime Expo will be cancelled as well.

 

Anime Expo cancelled, too.

 

http://www.anime-expo.org/2020/04/17/anime-expo-return-los-angeles-2021/

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5 minutes ago, onsenmark said:

SDCC and AX cancelled for this year. I hate to say it, but  it's not looking good, folks.

I guess we'll wait and see what Otakorp says and decides... we still have a little over 3 months to go. Things can change drastically (yes either way) by then. I'm not giving up hope just yet.

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  • 4 weeks later...
7 minutes ago, Daniel Perales said:

New York International Auto Show Cancelled. It originally was supposed to be held around April, but then it was posponed for August. It may not be an "anime" con, but it's still a major show:

 

 

https://www.autoshowny.com/

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yeah it was being held at the Javits where NYCC and ANYC happen... I'm just hoping that by some MIRACLE AnimeNYC still happens... If it's not cancelled by like September I'm preregging and going even if I have to wear a mask the entire con (of which I hope won't be the case by then). Daniel are you going to ANYC? We could meet up and get lunch or something.

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Still no word locally (from my area), about Liberty Anime Con. Meanwile, ReedPop, who does New York Comic Con has yet to mention anything new, but they were having a series of "virtual" panels from time to time. Also, just to mention, it was sometime earlier last May when they had their first "pre-sale" for their 4 day badges. This year, nothing so far.

 

I did hear from Anime-NYC. They said that it still a go so far, but they are keeping aware and  will let us know if something drastically changes.

 

 

 

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8 minutes ago, GasparAKAShiggitay said:

Yeah it was being held at the Javits where NYCC and ANYC happen... I'm just hoping that by some MIRACLE AnimeNYC still happens... If it's not cancelled by like September I'm preregging and going even if I have to wear a mask the entire con (of which I hope won't be the case by then). Daniel are you going to ANYC? We could meet up and get lunch or something.

Yes. I've already bought my badge some time ago. But I also told them if they do have to cancel, just roll it over for next year.

 

 

Edited by Daniel Perales
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15 minutes ago, Daniel Perales said:

Yes. I've already bought my badge some time ago. But I also told them if they do have to cancel, just roll it over for next year.

 

 

Yeah all major cons are making exceptions to their "no refund" policies for this year. I've yet to prereg for AnimeNYC 2020, but I will soon.. I wanna give it time to see how things unfold.

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  • 2 weeks later...
46 minutes ago, Daniel Perales said:

You just had to say it:

 

 

https://mikuexpo.com/usaca2020/

 

 

Yeah seriously... It'll be interesting having a Miku Expo concert happening on an odd numbered year... it's usually every other even numbered year...

Edited by GasparAKAShiggitay
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I mean it was bound to happen. Miku Expo DC was in the heart of covid-19 territory in PG county. With all the turmoil this year, it's probably for the best anyway.   Here's hoping Nekocon in November goes on, but I doubt that too. 

On 6/10/2020 at 12:24 AM, Daniel Perales said:

You just had to say it:

 

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1 hour ago, KyoKyo said:

I mean it was bound to happen. Miku Expo DC was in the heart of covid-19 territory in PG county. With all the turmoil this year, it's probably for the best anyway.   Here's hoping Nekocon in November goes on, but I doubt that too. 

 

I'm hoping the same to happen with AnimeNYC, but yeah let's see.

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6 minutes ago, windseeker said:

They're expecting a second wave to happen this fall, so don't get your hopes up.

Yeah I heard that as well, but let's see what happens. If it runs I'll try and go... If it gets cancelled? Then that's okay too.

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  • 4 weeks later...

It looks like "Liberty City Anime Con" here in NYC is done. They sent a twitter out about 19 days ago:

 Ea4eT7wWsAI1-41?format=jpg&name=small

 

Honestly, I don't think they're going through with it. Here in NYC, we're still dealing with the "social distancing" because of Covid-19.

 

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So Liberty City Anime Con finally made the announcment:

 

-----------------

We regret to announce that Liberty City Anime Convention 2020 has been cancelled in light of the Covid Pandemic. We respect the guidelines put forward by the CDC and want to act in the best interest of our attendees and our guests to maintain your health and safety.

We apologize for keeping you waiting on this announcement, as is the case with many other conventions, we have to work with the hotel to determine how cancellation will work and unfortunately that communication takes time.

All those who have pre-registered for a 2020 badge will automatically have their badge transferred to the 2021 event. Please reach out to us at www.libertycityanimecon.com/contact with any questions you have.

We look forward to an even better Liberty City Anime Convention in 2021!

 

 

-------------


NYC has made this announcment :

Due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) many events are being canceled or rescheduled. Before attending, please check with organizing group to confirm. *Note: Large events requiring a city events permit will be canceled through September 30th as the City works to prioritize open spaces for public use.*

We advise all to take extra precautions to stay healthy and safe. The NYC Health Department recommends that if you are an older adult or have chronic health conditions, you avoid unnecessary gatherings and events. 

 

 

Some of the other events affected:  

 

The West Indian Day Parade

The Feast of San Gennero

New York Fashion Week

 

 

If things still go the way it is, I say New York Comic Con will be the next big event cancelled. They didn't even started to sell their badges  yet.

 

 

 

 

 

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5 hours ago, Daniel Perales said:

============================================================================================================ SNIPPED QUOTE ===================================================================================================================================================
NYC has made this announcement :

Due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) many events are being canceled or rescheduled. Before attending, please check with organizing group to confirm. *Note: Large events requiring a city events permit will be canceled through September 30th as the City works to prioritize open spaces for public use.*

We advise all to take extra precautions to stay healthy and safe. The NYC Health Department recommends that if you are an older adult or have chronic health conditions, you avoid unnecessary gatherings and events. 

============================================================================================================ SNIPPED QUOTE ===================================================================================================================================================

AnimeNYC is likely waiting on some final confirmations etc before they inevitably cancel as well. I'd feel it to be VERY irresponsible to run the con during this whole thing... Sure NYC is said to be in better shape now but who's to say that people from OUTSIDE NYC from HOTSPOT areas/states won't try and attend should they for some ungodly reason not cancel? That's my concern. I really hope Left Field Media (LFM) is weight all possibilities and scenarios. They seem like a good group of people that'll do things for the better good and not just for their wallets, but I really hope they do the right thing.

Edited by GasparAKAShiggitay
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  • 5 weeks later...
15 hours ago, alabaster said:

We know the routine by now, right? They are almost certainly waiting until things are legally in place for them to cancel without being on the hook for the contracts.  Like every other con.

Yeah, I just wish they weren't legally obliged to keep people in the lurch so long.

Heck, even having a con, what would that look like? Something I asked in the feedback session of the Twitch event that didn't get answered was what kind of restrictions was Otakon prepared to put in place if the con were to have gone on (assuming planning was at that stage at the time the plug was pulled).

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9 hours ago, Aresef said:

Yeah, I just wish they weren't legally obliged to keep people in the lurch so long.

Heck, even having a con, what would that look like? Something I asked in the feedback session of the Twitch event that didn't get answered was what kind of restrictions was Otakon prepared to put in place if the con were to have gone on (assuming planning was at that stage at the time the plug was pulled).

The short answer -- and remembering I do NOT currently speak on behalf of the organization -- is that we've generally followed the recommendations and requirements of the venue, because what choice do we have? And the venue follows city guidance. Everyone does.  Just like we're stuck with the required food vendors and security contractors, and required to scan bags and restrict costumes.  (Further disclaimer: there are a LOT of Ota staff connected with health care, public safety, and government, and we're pretty vocal when such things are discussed. It would be impossible to "go rogue" for something like "do we follow guidance" with this crew.). Masks and sanitizer, of course; but social distancing a convention simply was NEVER going to work, and anyone with any sense saw where this was headed.  All of the con runners have been discussing this since January. 

If the show is just a glorified flea market, or run small with a really supportive hotel, then you MIGHT have a chance -- but panels and autographs and concerts just ain't gonna work safely while this crap is going on, and personally any guest willing to show up in the current climate is not someone I'd consider safe to be around.  Any show large enough to need a convention center simply cannot survive with a 25% cap on attendance and no content. Remember, it costs a few million dollars to run this event and organization, and the biggest part of that is the facilities and setup costs.  Being forced to run like that, even before bearing the brunt of extra precautions, would bankrupt us.

But it's not just us -- NO event I'm aware of could take a 75% cut in revenue and survive; most would be fatally crippled, because nearly all of us run on thin margins and are supported primarily by membership or ticket revenue.  (Dr Matt the Minion could break it down for you, but the raw costs of running events like ours are staggering if you're not used to seeing them.)

 

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10 hours ago, alabaster said:

The short answer -- and remembering I do NOT currently speak on behalf of the organization -- is that we've generally followed the recommendations and requirements of the venue, because what choice do we have? And the venue follows city guidance. Everyone does.  Just like we're stuck with the required food vendors and security contractors, and required to scan bags and restrict costumes.  (Further disclaimer: there are a LOT of Ota staff connected with health care, public safety, and government, and we're pretty vocal when such things are discussed. It would be impossible to "go rogue" for something like "do we follow guidance" with this crew.). Masks and sanitizer, of course; but social distancing a convention simply was NEVER going to work, and anyone with any sense saw where this was headed.  All of the con runners have been discussing this since January. 

If the show is just a glorified flea market, or run small with a really supportive hotel, then you MIGHT have a chance -- but panels and autographs and concerts just ain't gonna work safely while this crap is going on, and personally any guest willing to show up in the current climate is not someone I'd consider safe to be around.  Any show large enough to need a convention center simply cannot survive with a 25% cap on attendance and no content. Remember, it costs a few million dollars to run this event and organization, and the biggest part of that is the facilities and setup costs.  Being forced to run like that, even before bearing the brunt of extra precautions, would bankrupt us.

But it's not just us -- NO event I'm aware of could take a 75% cut in revenue and survive; most would be fatally crippled, because nearly all of us run on thin margins and are supported primarily by membership or ticket revenue.  (Dr Matt the Minion could break it down for you, but the raw costs of running events like ours are staggering if you're not used to seeing them.)

 

Yeah, all good points. And also I'm thinking registration opened in November, what if the WEWCC came back around and said we're sorry, you gotta cap at X number of people. I see how the finances would collapse in a hurry.

Edited by Aresef
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11 hours ago, alabaster said:

But it's not just us -- NO event I'm aware of could take a 75% cut in revenue and survive; most would be fatally crippled, because nearly all of us run on thin margins and are supported primarily by membership or ticket revenue.  (Dr Matt the Minion could break it down for you, but the raw costs of running events like ours are staggering if you're not used to seeing them.)

 

11 minutes ago, Aresef said:

Yeah, all good points. And also I'm thinking registration opened in November, what if the WEWCC came back around and said we're sorry, you gotta cap at X number of people. I see how the finances would collapse in a hurry.

Since I have been summoned... 😛

In very broad strokes membership income makes up about 70% of our income, cutting it back to 1/4 of this would be unworkable. A restriction in attendance would also drop the other 30% of our income as there would be fewer vendors, merch sales, advertisements, and so on.

Could we run an Otakon on 25-30% of our expected budget, not really. The combination of the annual day-to-day expenses eat up a large portion of what's left (for example material storage, internet things, legal support), and as we already run those aspects pretty thin there isn't much to save there. Then fixed rental costs for facilities claims another significant chunk. Which would leave us with just enough to maybe scrape by with something that might resemble an event, depending on the added costs for safety.  I don't doubt the tenacity and creativity of our staff to make something work, but honestly what we could afford with what's left would cut out larger-scale programming (stuff like concerts, dance,  or masquerade) and guests (unless they came on their own),  and the general production value of the event would be much lower than it's even been.  

 

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On 8/11/2020 at 9:46 PM, alabaster said:

We know the routine by now, right? They are almost certainly waiting until things are legally in place for them to cancel without being on the hook for the contracts.  Like every other con.

I wonder if NYCC will take advantage of taking more space at the Javis once the expansion is completed next year?

https://javitscenter.com/media/119020/8666_javits_factsheet_121418.pdf

 

I forgot to add even more NYC event cancellations :

New York City Marathon

Radio City City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular

 

 

Edited by Daniel Perales
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2 minutes ago, Aresef said:

And Anime NYC was called off today. I mean, you could see that one from a mile off.

Yup. I'm glad they did. That just means they can get bigger and better guests for next year! And maybe use more of the JJCC after the expansion is done.... Like dedicated rooms for the AA and DR, and video game room.

Edited by GasparAKAShiggitay
JJCC Expansion?
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4 minutes ago, GasparAKAShiggitay said:

Yup. I'm glad they did. That just means they can get bigger and better guests for next year! And maybe use more of the JJCC after the expansion is done.... Like dedicated rooms for the AA and DR, and video game room.

I'm not sure if the "bigger and better claim" is necessarily accurate, and this goes for a lot of cons that were scuttled this year. Though force majeure saves them from massive payouts to the venue, contractors and such, there are still costs associated with not having an event, to say nothing of the refunds to those who ask for them and the merch they can't sell. And the people who do roll over their memberships at ANYC, Ota and other cons, they're not paying twice to go, by definition. And the big unknowns are how many people will want to go to cons next year, whether the vaccine will be out there and what kind of restrictions may be in place from city to city.

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Just now, Aresef said:

I'm not sure if the "bigger and better claim" is necessarily accurate, and this goes for a lot of cons that were scuttled this year. Though force majeure saves them from massive payouts to the venue, contractors and such, there are still costs associated with not having an event, to say nothing of the refunds to those who ask for them and the merch they can't sell. And the people who do roll over their memberships at ANYC, Ota and other cons, they're not paying twice to go, by definition. And the big unknowns are how many people will want to go to cons next year, whether the vaccine will be out there and what kind of restrictions may be in place from city to city.

I know all that, but I'm just being hopeful. lol

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2 hours ago, Aresef said:

I'm not sure if the "bigger and better claim" is necessarily accurate, and this goes for a lot of cons that were scuttled this year. Though force majeure saves them from massive payouts to the venue, contractors and such, there are still costs associated with not having an event, to say nothing of the refunds to those who ask for them and the merch they can't sell. And the people who do roll over their memberships at ANYC, Ota and other cons, they're not paying twice to go, by definition. And the big unknowns are how many people will want to go to cons next year, whether the vaccine will be out there and what kind of restrictions may be in place from city to city.

I convinced some of my coworkers to attend this con earlier this year. Only one of them said he will request a refund while the others decided to roll it over for next year.

I think that things will still be shot for the first half of the year, but I'm hopeful that things will go back to some sort of normality by the 3rd quarter next year.

Well, I can finally say that all the cons that I was planning to staff or attend has been wiped off the board this year. :(

 

 

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