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Indy PopCon has been called off at least until later this year, as organizers consider their options for running a safe event and look for new dates later in 2020.
The Indianapolis-based comic and popular-culture convention had been scheduled for July 10-12 at the Indiana Convention Center and was expected to draw about 40,000 people. Local tourism officials were unable to provide an economic impact estimate for the convention.
It is one of several major events to postpone or cancel in recent weeks due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“We’re heartbroken to have to make this decision, but our fans’ health is of the utmost importance to us,” said Carl Doninger, CEO and co-owner of Indy PopCon, in a media release. “This event is what we work toward all year, to have our family of geeks and gamers come together to celebrate their fandoms. But right now, the only way to do that safely is by being apart.”
Organizers planned to debut a new international film festival during the July convention, but that event will instead occur online starting July 9, with a showcase of short and feature-length productions.
Doninger said sharing the decision to postpone with the public brings some relief to the PopCon team as it evaluates plans for the rest of the year. He estimated the chances that an in-person event still could take place in 2020 to be around 25%, given uncertainty over the virus.
“Our ability to do it is there, but we have to weigh all the options,” he said, adding PopCon is working closely with Visit Indy and convention center staff to nail down new dates in “late summer.”
PopCon—which relies on the convention for most of its annual revenue—still hopes to bring artists, creators and a host of celebrities to a rescheduled event, along with board games, video games and other activities for which the event has become known.
PopCon will transfer all pre-purchased tickets to a new date—or to 2021 if this year’s event is scrapped altogether. It also plans to honor vendor agreements similarly.
A calendar slot for PopCon’s 2021 event has already been secured, but Doninger withheld details because a contract has not yet been signed.
PopCon’s postponement comes two weeks after Gen Con—one of the city’s largest annual conventions—said it was canceling its in-person show in early August in favor of a virtual convention due to health concerns.
Doninger said PopCon “had already put the final nail in the coffin” for its July event before that announcement was made.
“We knew a while ago we shouldn’t do anything in July,” he said. “But we wanted to do everything in the correct order … and we wanted to minimize the impact through the whole chain. We’ve been working diligently on this for weeks.”
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