With the indefinite ban on large gathering still in effect, the 2020 annual Comic Con Africa event will be moving over into the virtual space.
Lovers of all things geek and pop culture can look forward to four days of entertainment, interaction and information on the latest happenings in the comic world.
Still taking place on the originally planned dates – 24 – 27 September – Comic Con Africa plans to break the internet, bringing a Con to fans in the comfort of their homes.
“Comic Con will be sharing a wealth of exclusive interactive content over the weekend including many of fans’ favourite elements of a real-life Con. Live chats, Q&As, panel discussions, and the opportunity to virtually meet celebs, fan meet ups, live draws, talks, gaming tournaments and streams, artist panels, Q&As, special exclusive exhibitor deals and more. Everything the Con would usually offer will still take place in exciting and unexpected ways,” the organisers said in a statement.
“During a pandemic which is expected to peak in September, we simply cannot go ahead with hosting the many tens of thousands of fans who attend Comic Con Africa annually” said Carol Weaving, Managing Director of organisers Reed Exhibitions Africa. “Despite months of planning, diligent consideration of the state of the pandemic dictates that cancelling the 2020 edition of Comic Con Africa is the only way forward”.
Comic Con Online promises to be new, exciting as well as innovative. It also hopes to still be the ultimate pop culture (virtual) festival in Africa.
“We work hard all year to bring our fans the best in pop culture entertainment and content. By taking the Con Online we know that we will never be able to offer quite the same experience as connecting and engaging at the actual show, but we also don’t want to stop bringing our fans the fun and entertainment in 2020. COVID-19 won’t stop the dedicated fandoms and communities that Comic Con Africa engages with, so by offering an Online Con experience we can still not only keep our communities together, but connect more fans and grow to ensure that our 2021 show is the biggest yet!” said Carla Massmann, the Portfolio Director for Comic Con.
For fans who have already bought their tickets, organisers have prepared a plan to roll over the existing tickets to 2021 with a price freeze. They may also refund any ticket holders who request it.
All ticket holders will receive a direct communication from Comic Con’s ticket holding partner, Howler over the next few days outlining how that will happen.
Although tickets for the 2020 event have now closed, one things is for certain: Comic Con Africa will be back in all its (physical) glory in 2021.
