After the cancellation of July’s San Diego Comic-Con in April, Star Wars Celebration is yet another widely-popular entertainment event to be canceled in light of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The Celebration was set to take place in the Anaheim Convention Center from August 27 through 30. It was organized by LucasFilm working with ReedPOP, the world’s largest event organizer. Since starting in 1999, this is the first time in Celebration history that the event has been canceled.
“At Star Wars Celebration, the health and safety of our fans, attendees, exhibitors, guests and staff is always our number one priority,” organizers announced in a statement on their website and social media. “Due to the global impact of the COVID-19 virus and in speaking with local and state authorities on the latest public health guidelines related to indoor conventions, we have made the decision to cancel Star Wars Celebration for 2020.”
While this is unfortunate news for fans who already purchased tickets, they can either receive a refund or transfer their tickets to the next Star Wars Celebration. The next event will stay in Anaheim and is scheduled to be held Aug. 18-21, 2022. Fans have from June 22 until August 26 to complete a refund. In addition, hotel rooms booked via the Star Wars Celebration’s portal will automatically be canceled.
Star Wars Celebration is always a highly anticipated event, in recent years offering early sneak peeks into films such as Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Fans attend the event dressed in cosplay and are able to see appearances and panels of the cast and crew, past and present.
This would have been the second time the Celebration was held in Anaheim and a third time in California. Previous Celebrations occurred in Anaheim in 2015 and Los Angeles in 2007. The Celebration has also been held globally in cities in the U.K., Japan and Germany.