**UPDATE**
Comic Con Cape Town has now (26 January 2021) confirmed the cancellation of the 2021 event.
**END OF UPDATE**
An email sent to Comic Con Cape Town vendors is stating that the event scheduled for April 2021 will not be going ahead.
The email states that: “Due to the continuing prevalence of COVID-19 and the extension of the National State of Disaster and the impact this has on planning, sadly Comic Con Cape Town 2021 will not be going ahead. If you had chosen to roll over your stand to 2021, we would like to offer you a full refund.”
This is not an entirely unexpected move. We are aware of a number of local non-gaming and non-geek expos that have already been postponed to 2022, rather than run in the first quarter of 2021.
Comic Con Cape Town does promise that it will still launch in Cape Town when it is safe to do so, and that a “Fan Celebration Day” will be hosted in Cape Town later in 2021. Via the email:
We have a plan in place with the City of Cape Town to host a Fan Celebration Day later in 2021 to give Capetonians an exciting taste of what Comic Con is all about. Once details of the Fan Celebration Day are finalised we will be in touch with you to discuss the opportunities it offers.
This is a comma in the Comic Con Cape Town story, not a full stop – and we look forward to launching in Cape Town with you as soon as we safely can!
This announcement does make one wonder whether Rand Show (currently advertising for March and April 2021) will still go ahead. UCON – the UCT geek and gaming expo – is also an early year event traditionally, and is another likely to be considering the status of its 2021 outing.
Until the bans on mass gatherings are lifted, planning in a vacuum is a difficult one for event organisers, so expect many to be cautious about their events especially if planned for the first half of 2021.
