Posted in: Comics | Tagged: coronavirus comics, harrogate, thought bubble

Thought Bubble Moves 2020 Show Online, Confirms Harrogate For 2021

Published Fri, 19 Jun 2020 06:11:07 -0500

Thought Bubble, the UK's largest comic art festival, has announced that this years festival and convention in Harrogate planned for November 2020. have been postponed to 13th-14th November 2021 and that a digital comic con will take place this November on the 14th and 15th in its stead. All exhibitors and ticket holders have been contacted alongside the announcement with all their options for holding onto tables, receiving refunds etc. And I'm off to cancel my AirBnB.

Thought Bubble's digital convention will be free to all and feature massive online exhibition halls alongside tons of great new and live streamed content including masterclasses, Q&A's, panels, parties, premieres and much more. Partners are already on board including comiXology, 2000 AD, Mondo, Leeds Art University, Awesome Merchandise, Travelling Man and Serial Box with lots more to announce over the coming months.

Martha Julian – Deputy Director, Thought Bubble says "We're so sad that we've had to postpone this year's show, but we hope everyone understands that the safety of our visitors, exhibitors, guests and staff is at the very centre of this decision. We are excited to come back in 2021 with an absolutely incredible show. 2020's digital comic con is a new venture for us, and we have some amazing guests in place already, with a packed programme that we hope people will love!"

Here is the full show statement.

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