Seattle’s annual comic book convention, Emerald City Comic Con, has been postponed amid growing concern surrounding the coronavirus outbreak. The event, which has run since 2003, was set to take place from March 12th–15th at the Washington State Convention Center. It will now be hosted sometime this summer, making it one of the many major cultural events to be canceled or delayed as a result of the COVID-19 virus.

“We did everything that we could to run the event as planned, but ultimately, we are following the guidance of the local public health officials indicating that conventions should now be postponed,” Emerald City Comic Con organizers said in a statement. Earlier this week, the event’s organizers said fans attending this year would receive a refund on their tickets, however, the organizers mentioned that a refund may take up to 30 days due to the volume being processed.

In the weeks leading up to Emerald City, numerous vendors, including Dark Horse Comics and Del Rey Books, withdrew their attendance. The state of Washington has been significantly impacted by the virus, with 70 people currently diagnosed, including an individual employed at Amazon. Tech companies, including Amazon, Google, Facebook, and Microsoft, have requested that their Seattle-based employees work from home to help prevent the spread of the virus.

Source: The Verge

If cancellations continue and SDCC bites the dust, it would mean the end for so many businesses in the area that have come to rely on that one convention.

quote:

Originally posted by Graham:
If cancellations continue and SDCC bites the dust, it would mean the end for so many businesses in the area that have come to rely on that one convention.

So true.

I also am wondering if some smaller struggling cons could be bankrupted if they have to cancel/postpone.

quote:

Originally posted by webjon:

quote:

Originally posted by Graham:
If cancellations continue and SDCC bites the dust, it would mean the end for so many businesses in the area that have come to rely on that one convention.

So true.

I also am wondering if some smaller struggling cons could be bankrupted if they have to cancel/postpone.

I know the promoter of one bigger con in Michigan said that they would be bankrupt if they had to postpone like ECCC did.

I don't know how many shows actually have event insurance for such a contingency. And, if it falls under "Acts of God" some insurances might not kick in on payments.

It's going to get more interesting in the following weeks. Next big show is ACE in Boston, and they just instituted a No Touching policy for photo ops.

If guests start dropping out or the government starts saying not to fly, then it might be game over for a great many cons. Just look at the cruise industry, they're going to take major hits now that people are being told not to go on cruises.

And, I'm just waiting to see if we have to make any kind of decision about Chicago and Philly in a few short weeks.

Ed

quote:

Originally posted by Scifi Cards:

quote:

Originally posted by webjon:

quote:

Originally posted by Graham:
If cancellations continue and SDCC bites the dust, it would mean the end for so many businesses in the area that have come to rely on that one convention.

So true.

I also am wondering if some smaller struggling cons could be bankrupted if they have to cancel/postpone.

I know the promoter of one bigger con in Michigan said that they would be bankrupt if they had to postpone like ECCC did.

I don't know how many shows actually have event insurance for such a contingency. And, if it falls under "Acts of God" some insurances might not kick in on payments.

It's going to get more interesting in the following weeks. Next big show is ACE in Boston, and they just instituted a No Touching policy for photo ops.

If guests start dropping out or the government starts saying not to fly, then it might be game over for a great many cons. Just look at the cruise industry, they're going to take major hits now that people are being told not to go on cruises.

And, I'm just waiting to see if we have to make any kind of decision about Chicago and Philly in a few short weeks.

Ed

Well unless they stop flights into USA I will still be in Allentown in May LOL

quote:

Originally posted by Scifi Cards

I don't know how many shows actually have event insurance for such a contingency. And, if it falls under "Acts of God" some insurances might not kick in on payments.

Ed

The argument being that if you believe in a deity, everything is an act of God.

I'm not sure the coronavirus outbreak would qualify as an "act of God" legally because that term refers to a natural catastrophe which cannot be controlled like an earthquake or a hurricane (something geological or atmospheric). We can control the spread of a disease. We just haven't been doing it well this time, we have done a great job at keeping it from reaching Antarctica so far.

Jess

quote:

Originally posted by Graham:

quote:

Originally posted by Scifi Cards

I don't know how many shows actually have event insurance for such a contingency. And, if it falls under "Acts of God" some insurances might not kick in on payments.

Ed

The argument being that if you believe in a deity, everything is an act of God.

No expert, but I'm pretty sure this will become an insurance issue now for anyone cancelling anything. The NBA is not going to cancel its season and eat the loss of all the revenue and still pay salaries. Planned events are not going to rebate everyone or play to empty stands and lose all the gate and the money that other related businesses make on having attendance. Businesses and promoters are going to ask for government relief, as well as trying to hit their insurance policies.

I'm not sure if insurers will try to call it Act of God exclusions when the Congress and President put on active restrictions and some places will surely be covered. I think the trick for businesses will be in proving that their losses are directly tied to the outbreak, rather than just being a poor period. It will also depend on how good your policy was to begin with and I'm sure that no matter what is said, there will be a lot of people that see little or no reimbursement from anyone when the paperwork starts.

This is a financial mess. That's why the market is still looking for bottom. With every big event postponing and the airline restrictions to Europe just starting, the consequences are going to be coming for months, at a minimum, and no one will know if the response was too much or not enough until something gets resolved medically with the coronavirus. Even then they will still be arguing, but there are going to be staggering costs for trying to tack whole economies and just stop them in their tracks.