VidCon Baltimore canceled, VidCon says it will devote “all efforts and resources” to Anaheim event

VidCon Baltimore has been cancelled.

The East Coast Edition of VidCon hosted its first event in 2023 and ticket sales were well underway for its 2024 edition, which was scheduled to take place September 26-29 at the Baltimore Convention Center.

But VidCon says the event will no longer take place and its cancellation “will allow the company to focus all of its efforts and resources on VidCon’s flagship event in Anaheimplanned for summer 2025. »

Calling the cancellation a “difficult decision,” VidCon added that it “(wants) to thank the city of Baltimore and all the fans and creators who attended the East Coast event last year and hopes to see everyone in Anaheim next summer.”

Anyone who has already purchased tickets to VidCon Baltimore 2024 will have their money refunded in full by 11:59 p.m. EST on July 19.

VidCon Tells Tube filter he has no intention of canceling VidCon Mexicowhich is scheduled for August 9-11 in Mexico City. Last year’s event there attracted 12,000 attendees; we don’t have figures for VidCon Baltimore, but we know that 85,000 people in total attended VidCon, VidCon Baltimore, and VidCon São Paulo in 2023, with 55,000 attendees at the main event in Anaheim.

There does not appear to be any event planned in São Paulo this year. The future of these two satellite conventions beyond 2024 is not yet clear.

The move comes as VidCon’s owner Paramount Global—who has been in difficulty since Viacom And CBS merged to create it in 2019, is reportedly considering selling the convention. According to an April report from Advertising WeekParamount Global Hires Bank Oaklins DeSilva+Phillips examine a sale.

Sources close to the matter said Advertising Week Paramount Global is looking for “a strategic buyer rather than a private equity firm, and the event series is not considered a “distressed asset.” But it appears that budgetary constraints are still in place as Paramount Global prepares to merge with Skydancewith a renewed focus on sports licensing and plans to overhaul the streaming service Paramount+.

While we don’t know how VidCon Baltimore fared last year in terms of attendance, we do know that when Hank and John Green When VidCon was founded in 2010, there was nothing like it. Fourteen years later, the digital content space has grown and matured, and there are several other major annual events, including Video Summit, Live Creator EconomyAnd TwitchConwhich bring together creators to celebrate our industry and its future.