Convention, the non-profit responsible for San Diego Comic-Con, via email and learned more about retailer passes, ticket sales, exhibitors, programming and expectations for the upcoming show, the first in three years.

ICv2: We saw that Diamond is telling its retailer customers that “due to limited pass availability,” there will be no free passes for Diamond customers this year (instead they’re being offered the chance to buy paid passes).  Can you clarify what changed?
David Glanzer: As you know, for the first time in our history we had to cancel in-person shows for 2020 and 2021 which resulted in little income for those years. In our continuing efforts to be fiscally responsible, we have been exploring ways to increase revenue. As the world gets back to a more normal footing, we will review this and other scenarios we have had to implement as a result of the pandemic.

What’s the overall situation for passes in 2022?
Comic-Con is technically sold out. Tickets were sold in 2019 for the 2020 show, but as that was cancelled those tickets were rolled over to 2021. Of course, due to the cancellation of the 2021 show, we rolled over tickets again for this year's show. There have been some refunds, and changes in ticket-holder life situations, so we were able to utilize some of those badges for fundraising efforts. In fact, we have an eBay page setup for this purpose

Did you sell the same number of tickets as you did in 2019?  If fewer, by what percentage?
Unfortunately, there were no additional tickets sold for the 2022 show. All tickets were rolled over from the 2019 sale.

Are you reducing complimentary passes generally, or was the retailer situation a special case?
We have generally reduced complimentary passes for the time being.

Are you reducing the number of attendees or trying to derive greater revenue from those who attend?
As the show is sold out, we expect the same number of attendees. While costs have increased significantly from 2019 to 2022 that burden is being absorbed by Comic-Con.

And what’s the situation for exhibitors and programming – can you compare both to 2019?
There are some companies that still have a restriction on travel so I think the floor may look a bit different than in 2019, however the floor is full and programming is as well. There just may be some new exhibitors and presenters this year.

In general, what do you expect for SDCC 2022 – how do you expect it to be different (or the same) as pre-Covid years?
I think fans are excited to reconnect with their friends and make new ones. However, we are also still in a situation where there are health concerns so some attendees may, at the last minute, opt not to return. But from the chatter we hear, it promises to be a fun and big show. But only time will be the true barometer.