Anime Expo 2021 will take place virtually in honor of their 30th anniversary. On March 3rd, CEO of The Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation, Ray Chiang, stated in a letter to attendees that, due to the continued uncertainties surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, it is apparent that they will not be able to safely hold a physical show this July.
Chiang stated that this move is only temporary and that it’s the right thing to do. Although an in-person Anime Expo 2021 is not possible at the time, virtual events will take place in order to celebrate their 30th anniversary. Anime Expo Lite will return on the July 4th weekend. All attendee badge holders and Artist Alley table packages have been refunded as part of the transition to a new registration system. If you opted to roll over, then you’ll still get priority access when registration is available in the future.
A few years ago, Anime Expo began to host crowds of over 100,000 attendees. This brought in over $99 million dollars in revenue for the city of Los Angeles. This announcement will no doubt make it harder on many vendors and dealers who participate at the cons. The decision to postpone an event of this scale is a difficult one.
This comes at the same time that another major California convention, San Diego -Comic-Con announced that it would also postpone its large-scale in-person event until 2022. San Diego Comic-Con brings in about $150 million in economic impact to the region, representing an injection of at least $80 million in direct spending. The decision to not host an in-person event reflects that these conventions are putting the health and safety of both their staff and attendees first.
In a statement a few days ago, President Biden promised to have vaccines for all US adults by end of May. It was announced that California theme parks, stadiums can reopen as soon as April 1 under revamped COVID-19 rules. However, it is still too early to know what exactly the plans are for individual amusement parks and Major League Baseball.
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