Bad News Just Dropped For Star Wars Fans
We have a bad feeling about this.
The organizers of Star Wars Celebration 2020 have taken to the event's official Twitter account with a bummer of a message for fans: this year's Celebration, which was slated to take place this August in Anaheim, California, has been canceled.
We'll give you three guesses as to the reason for the cancellation, and the first two don't count. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak varying amounts of havoc all over the U.S. and the world, festival organizers, concert promoters, and movie exhibitors have all been left with some extra-tough decisions to make. The vast majority of events which involve the gathering of large groups of people in enclosed spaces, presenting the ideal conditions for the novel coronavirus which causes COVID-19 to spread, have been shuffled off until late this year or early next. As Star Wars Celebration is not a yearly event, but takes place roughly every two years, the cancellation means that fans won't be able to gather to share their love of the galaxy far, far away until 2022.
Organizers broke the news to fans with a tweet. "At Star Wars Celebration, the health and safety of our fans, attendees, exhibitors, guests, and staff is always our number one priority," it read in part. "Due to the global impact of the COVID-19 virus and in speaking with local and state authorities on the latest public health guidelines related to indoor conventions, we have made the decision to cancel Star Wars Celebration for 2020. While this news is disappointing, we are happy to announce that Star Wars Celebration will return to the Anaheim Convention Center on August 18-21, 2022."
What should you do if you've already made plans to attend Star Wars Celebration 2020?
The tweet concluded by directing fans who have already purchased tickets and made travel and lodging arrangements to Star Wars Celebration's official website, and we can tell you that if you've already shelled out big bucks making plans to attend, the Celebration's organizers largely have you covered. If you simply wish to transfer your tickets to the 2022 event, just submit a request on the website; no further action is required.
If you have bought tickets or merchandise and wish to request a refund, you can also do so on the event's website — but do be aware that there's a window. The refund request period will begin on Monday, June 22, and end on August 26, 2020. Whether your tickets are cancelled or refunded, you'll receive a confirmation email — but not until six to eight weeks after that August 26 deadline, according to a separate tweet in response to a fan query.
If you have booked lodging through Celebration's website, get ready for a bit of good news: you don't have to do anything. The event's organizers also tweeted a notice to the effect that all lodging reservations made through the event have already been cancelled at no cost to the reservation holder.
If you have other questions and don't feel like scrolling through a massive Twitter thread to find the answers, you can also check out the Celebration website's FAQ, which of course also contains an email address for customer support. We feel like there's a silver lining here — the folks in charge of organizing this massive event were obviously prepared for this possibility, and it seems like they've done everything in their power to make sure that the cancellation isn't too much of a hassle for fans who have already shelled out cash for tickets and lodging. We'll catch up with Star Wars Celebration in August 2022, and until then, remember: the Force will be with you. Always.