Thought Bubble Cancelled For 2020 But Back Next Year
by Olly MacNamee
Today we heard that Thought Bubble – due to have taken place over the week beginning November end of 14th-15th November this year at its new home at the Harrogate Convention Centre – has had to postpone and reschedule their festival, and comic-con for 2021 instead.
For many of us fans, and many creators too, this was the one last ray of hope in an otherwise dreadful year all round. But, it is the right thing to do. Especially as no-one can predict what will happen come Autumn and Winter when flu season will be upon us as well as this current health crisis.
Thought Bubble has been a last hurrah to the comic con season and often a great place to catch up with friends, rub shoulders and share a few drinks with comic creators from across the globe and all set against the beautiful backdrop of Yorkshire’s rolling moors. Ah well, there’s always next year.
But, like other shows, they will be announcing plans for an online virtual comic con shortly and have announced next year’s dates for there comic con now as13th – 14th November. So, watch this space on more development from this much loved comic art festival.
Here’s their full statement on this cancellation and the full list of reasons for postponing:
Dear Thought Bubble friends
We hope you are all keeping safe and well in these tough times. Our hearts are with you.
We’ve been holding out hope that things would be ok by November and Thought Bubble could go ahead as planned but right now it seems impossible that we’ll be able to guarantee everyone’s safety. Which means we have had to take the extremely hard decision to postpone this year’s show until 2021.
Everyone’s safety is of the utmost importance to us. Alongside this we have also had to consider that international travel may still be restricted and any form of social distancing will mean we simply can’t present the convention and festival activity in the same way. Interaction between audiences, guests and exhibitors is a cornerstone of the festival and it doesn’t feel right to try and present a diluted version of this. We’re so sad we won’t see you all in November, but the team will be working hard throughout this year and next to make sure we can host an even bigger and better Thought Bubble in 2021, which will be held 13-14 November at Harrogate Convention Centre.
This has been and continues to be an incredibly challenging time for us especially as a not-for-profit company, our priority is to do everything we can to keep going until next year.
There are ways you can help us; If you are an exhibitor, you can choose to move your table money over to the 2021 show without any price increase. If you’ve purchased a ticket, you can keep hold of it for next year’s event, or you can donate the value of your ticket to us. You can also become a Friend of Thought Bubble or make a donation via our website.
We know this may not be possible for everyone and we are offering refunds on tickets and table fees to those who would like them. Exhibitors and tickets holders, you will have an email with all the details on this.
On a positive note, we are planning to present something very special this year which will help us to connect with the community we dearly love. On 14-15 November 2020 we will be holding a Digital Comic Con. There will be a huge focus on our amazing exhibitors, we’ll have guest interviews, panels, masterclasses and loads of cool stuff. We are excited about what good can come from this new challenge, and we hope you will be too! More info will be available later today.
We have put together a FAQ which will hopefully cover anything you might want to ask, but we’re here if you need anything else.
Stay safe, look after each other, support local business and keep reading comics!
All our love, from Team Thought Bubble
