San Diego Comic-Con 2020: California Governor Casts Doubt on SDCC

San Diego Comic-Con would require some sort of miracle to be executed safely at full capacity this year. The current pandemic facing the entire globe makes the idea of more than 100,000 people from around the world gathering in the San Diego Convention Center just three months from now difficult to fathom. Now, the Governor of California has updated the state of affairs on the west coast of the United States and while Gavin Newsom might be offering some good news about the world slowly heading towards a state or normalcy, his prediction for the summer of this year casts a good bit of doubt on SDCC taking place.

The prospect of mass gathering is negligible at best until we get to herd immunity and we get to a vaccine," Newsom said, according to AP reporter Kathleen Ronayne. "Large scale events that bring in hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of strangers is...not in the cards." Newsom is more focused on getting kids back in school and getting other aspects of society functioning as the world eventually moves into its post-pandemic phase.

See Ronayne's tweet quoting the Governor of California from his afternoon press briefing on Tuesday below.

Bad news for concert venues, sports stadiums, Newsom says: "The prospect of mass gatherings is negligible at best until we get to herd immunity and we get to a vaccine. Large scale events that bring in hundreds, thousand, tens of thousands of strangers..is not in the cards."

— Kathleen Ronayne (@kronayne) April 14, 2020

Newsom also noted that there is no timeline on when the state of California will begin lifting the stay at home orders but the next two weeks should be telling as to when the state will begin getting back to traditional functions. As he points out possibilities like restaurants having fewer tables and businesses calling for temperature checks upon entering, it is hard to envision a world where more than a hundred-thousand people gather in San Diego to celebrate comics, movies, and television.

For San Diego Comic-Con, rescheduling is not something which can be waited on much longer should its power-that-be decide to postpone rather than cancel. The event requires much more than the San Diego Convention Center's time but a city-wide effort. Hotels, restaurants, and all other venues in the city are impacted by and plan with the event which essentially takes over the city for five days. Logistically, rescheduling gets more difficult with each passing day. Not to mention, the event sold out for July dates months ago. More than 100,000 people who knew they would be available in July would need the option of being refunded or transferring their tickets, in one way or another.

For now, it's difficult to imagine San Diego Comic-Con taking place in 2020. This would be the first year since 1969 that the event did not take place. July is not totally out of the question as the world makes every effort to combat a virus which has spread at an alarming rate but it is clear that other events are not anticipating the month to be a popular one for outings and social gatherings.

Do you think there will be a San Diego Comic-Con in 2020? Share your thoughts in the comment section or send them my way on Instagram and Twitter.