This year’s Star Wars Celebration—one of the most anticipated events of the year for fans of the franchise—has officially been canceled, with the next event being more than two years away.
Fans know that the near yearly Star Wars Celebration events are perhaps the biggest indoor conventions related to the franchise, with tickets being sold out months in advance.
Unfortunately for anticipating enthusiasts and ticket holders, LucasFilms just announced that this year’s gathering has officially been canceled, owing to the global COVID-19 outbreak and the local guidelines regarding indoor events.
Star Wars Celebration 2020 was set to be held in Anaheim, California from August 27-30 and would’ve marked the second time the event was held in the city. Lucasfilm also stated that the next convention would still take place in Anaheim, but in August of 2022.
Due to the impact of COVID-19, we’ve made the decision to cancel Star Wars Celebration 2020. While this news is disappointing, we’re happy to announce #StarWarsCelebration will return to Anaheim in 2022. Full statement with ticket transfers/refunds info at https://t.co/o2ObVULVVF pic.twitter.com/CnRWHZhuDq
— StarWars Celebration (@SW_Celebration) June 15, 2020
The history of Star Wars Celebration
The first-ever Star Wars Celebration was held in Denver, Colorado back in 1999, to commemorate the first film in the prequel trilogy—Star Wars: Episode 1—The Phantom Menace.
Since then, the events have customarily been organized to celebrate approaching Star Wars movies, in addition to the big 30 and 40-year anniversaries of the franchise’s first film.
While most of the celebrations so far have taken place in the United States, a few of the events were also held overseas. The Star Wars convention found its way to the United Kingdom twice, with Japan and Germany having hosted the event as well.
https://twitter.com/ChannelStarWars/status/1152182557917753344
Canceled 2020 comic book and video game conventions
LucasFilms wasn’t the only one who had to cancel a big event in 2020, as some of the most significant conventions lined up for the year shared the same fate.
Both the Seattle and San Diego Comic Cons were axed as well, with the latter opting to stage a Livestream make-up event next month called “Comic-Con@Home.”
Another highly-anticipated and recently canceled convention slated for this year is PAX West, the latest in a long line of video game and tech events who had to call off their plans. PAX West also decided to do an online show instead called Pax Online, which will be held later this year.
#PAXWest has been officially cancelled, but don't worry! PAX has something for everybody coming this year instead! Take a look at https://t.co/ZsI2oRffsX https://t.co/iUfX576yap
— PAX West 2024 (@PAXWestNews) June 16, 2020
It may be a tough pill to swallow, but it seems fans have no choice but to patiently await the next Star Wars Celebration in 2020. On the bright side, they can use the extended hiatus to put some extra work into their costumes.
Image courtesy of Star Wars Celebration/Twitter