Amidst the evergrowing epidemic in the United States, Diamond Comic Distributors has canceled this year’s Diamon Retailer Summit. An official statement from Diamond has been released, check it out below.
As the impact and spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to evolve, Diamond Comic Distributors has made the difficult decision to cancel the 2020 Retailer Summit scheduled to take place April 14-16, originally planned to be held in conjunction with MegaCon in Orlando, FL. We do this out of an abundance of caution and with deep disappointment. We will continue to assess the viral outbreak to plan a new conference date.
Our top priority is the health and safety of our staff, business partners, conference attendees and colleagues. We appreciate the efforts of the Informa team and the state and local authorities they are working with to provide a safe environment for fans and vendors and support their goal of another fun, successful convention. MegaCon Orlando is part of an international organization with dedicated health, safety, security and travel experts who are monitoring developments, sharing relevant information and providing guidance on events. At this time, we cannot ask our sponsors and retailers to commit to traveling plans while the Coronavirus’s impact is so uncertain.
We recognize the importance of the Retailer Summit. We thank you for your support and commitment to the Summit. We will continue to monitor this situation and look forward to the opportunity to meet face-to-face with our industry partners in the future. In the coming months, we will provide further updates as we determine our possible attendance at other events. Know that we value your business and take these measures to ensure we can provide our business partners with the services they need.
Diamond Retailer Summit is another huge event added to the long list of huge events being postponed or canceled entirely due to the Coronavirus and the hazard the general public faces in a place that holds thousands.
Other than international film releases, festivals and events like E3 2020, Coachella, SXSW, ECCC, and others have been those among the list of postponed or canceled events.