After stating that the convention “lives on” back in May, Tampa Bay Comic Con is now officially canceled.
The annual event, which was originally scheduled for July 10-12 , made the announcement Wednesday evening on its Facebook page, pointing to the recent surge of COVID-19 cases as the reason for the cancellation.
“Due to the recent surge in COVID-19 cases, the City of Tampa does not feel comfortable featuring Tampa Bay Comic Convention 2020 (and we share their sentiment),” reads the post.
The annual convention traditionally sees thousands of comic book and nerd culture fans convene at the Tampa Convention Center since 2010, will now be pushed to July 30-August 1, 2021.
“We sincerely apologize to those that were looking forward to attending TBCC 2020. Hopefully, 2021 will allow us to once again freely gather with friends and family," the post read. "Hopefully, 2021 will be a better year for the world.”
TBBC says that refunds are available, but transfers of pre-ordered tickets and booth space to next year's con is preferred. "Transfers are preferred and will be the default course of action as they keep the convention alive," said the con in a reply.
The Tampa Bay Comic Con was one of the last big holdouts to cancel an upcoming summer event at the Tampa Convention Center. Last May, Metrocon, the state’s largest anime convention, canceled its July dates at the Tampa Convention Center and rescheduled for next year.
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This article appears in Jun 25 – Jul 1, 2020.