Emerald City Comic Con Cancelled Amid Coronavirus Concerns

As concerns over the still-developing coronavirus pandemic continue to mount, including more than a dozen cases of COVID-19 and some deaths in King County, Washington where the convention takes place, Emerald City Comic Con has officially cancelled the upcoming convention. Originally scheduled to take place March 12-15 at the Washington State Convention Center in downtown Seattle, ReedPOP, the producers behind the annual event have released a statement indicating that due to concerns over the health and well-being of attendees and guests, the convention will no longer be taking place as scheduled.

Fans will be automatically refunded the cost of their tickets. You can check out the official statement from ReedPop below.

Each year the Emerald City Comic Con team works their hardest to do right by the thousands of fans that come together in Seattle. We want to create a space for you to gather, be yourselves and make memories with those who matter to you most. We have been closely monitoring the situation around the COVID-19 virus in Seattle, and, after many hours of conversation internally and consultation with local government officials and the tourism bureau, we have decided to move next week's Emerald City Comic Con to Summer 2020 with date and detail announcement forthcoming. We did everything that we could to run the event as planned, but ultimately, we are following the guidance of the local public health officials indicating that conventions should now be postponed.

Our hearts go out to the entire Seattle community, everyone impacted by the COVID-19 virus, and all of you, the nearly 100,000 amazing human beings who look forward to this event each year. Our team was incredibly excited to see you at Emerald City Comic Con next week, however, fans, artists, exhibitors and the rest of the community are what make Reedpop events so special and it is our duty to make sure that your safety comes first.

We know that this decision is going to greatly impact many of our individual creators, small businesses and service workers. To those whose careers depend on ECCC - we will do everything that we can over the coming days and weeks to highlight your work and we ask that our entire community support you as we realize your personal livelihoods may be impacted.

To all of our fans – you will receive a refund on your tickets, no further action is needed on your part. Due to the volume, we expect you will receive your refund in 30 days. We appreciate your patience and understanding.

Reedpop remains determined and committed to running Emerald City Comic Con in 2020 and we are working closely with Visit Seattle and the Washington State Convention Center to secure alternate dates this summer. As we explore options for new dates, please know that our priority is to bring you an equally amazing event.

We appreciate all the messages that we have received over the course of the past week. The feedback was invaluable in helping us determine next steps.

Stay tuned to our website and social channels for additional information about when we will next see you in Seattle.

The official cancellation of Emerald City Comic Con comes in the wake of multiple cancellation announcements from various publishers and guests all connected to coronavirus concerns. On Tuesday, Dark Horse announced that they would be pulling out of the convention with the safety of their staff and creators in mind. Penguin Random House also pulled out of the convention and DC went even further, confirming in a statement to ComicBook.com that they were cancelling all convention appearances for the month of March in light of the potential threat to public health and safety.

"As the health and safety of our employees are always our primary concerns, DC staffers will not be attending conventions during the month of March," the statement said. "Future convention attendance will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, factoring in the latest information from a variety of organizations, including the CDC, WHO, U.S. State Department and local health agencies."

Individual creators, including Scott Duvall, Jen Bartel, Jim Zub, and Kate Leth, have also told fans that they would not participate in the convention as originally planned.

The coronavirus -- officially named SARS-CoV-2 -- was first detected in China in late 2019. Since its detection, the disease it causes (coronavirus disease 2019, aka COVID-19) has begun to spread worldwide with varying impacts on the entertainment industry. Back in February, Italian production on Mission: Impossible 7 was shut down due to an outbreak. In recent weeks, there have been increasing numbers of cases confirmed across the United States, with the Centers for Disease Control advising against "Nonessential Travel" due to "Widespread Community Transmission" of the illness.