DavidB

Hi everyone, By now you will have all heard the official statement from the UK government and that they have paused the roadmap out of lockdown. We are bitterly disappointed but understand that we all have a part to play to make sure that the virus stays under control and that once the restrictions are lifted, it has a lasting effect. As the proposed date for the next phase is now the 19th July it means it is simply not feasible for London Film & Comic Con to go ahead over the weekend of 23rd -25th July 2021 so it is with a heavy heart we have taken the tough decision postpone the event until the country has properly reopened. Our aim is always to deliver well run, fun events with the high calibre of guests you know us for and with this update to the restrictions we do not feel this is possible. We had everything in place to have gone ahead for the July 2021 date but after the update from the government this evening pushing back lifting of the lockdown restrictions for a further 4 weeks minimum, this has sadly left us not enough time to get the event ready. We rely on local councils to provide signoff, guidelines and permits for running the event and we have been informed that these would not be in place with only a possible 4-day window. LFCC will move into the weekend of 19th, 20th & 21st November 2021 and the London Comic Con Winter will be postponed until the back end of 2022. It’s sad for all of us that we cannot celebrate all that we love and meet up with each other at what is the biggest event of its kind in the UK and I know you, like the guests and myself, will be disappointed that this summer’s event is not going to happen as planned. We are talking to all our guests and their agents to confirm their availability but the below have already rescheduled to the new date. They are eager to join us as soon as we are finally out the other side of this awful pandemic. Elizabeth Mitchell Mark Pellegrino Clare Kramer Jason O’Mara Tom Skerritt Veronica Cartwright Amanda Tapping Ben Browder Barry Bostwick Alice Cooper Robert Englund In the coming days and weeks, we will confirm all of the other names. Please be patient with us as we gather this new info and get feedback from the guests as to what shows they will be able to attend and website all of our platforms. We will try to re-book them into the London Film & Comic Con date in November, so it is easy for you all to meet the guests you wanted to meet. If guests cannot attend the November date, then we will look at inviting them to the other dates in our calendar like Film & Comic Con Birmingham in September. All tickets will automatically roll over to the date of their appearances but if you are not able to make these then we can issue you a digital voucher that can be used at any Showmasters event or on the www.showmasterssales.com website, any time up to two years of issue. The entire events industry across the board has suffered badly with the impact of the pandemic and even people like Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber are worried around being able to re-open the theatres in London. There is no help from the government for anyone in the events industry so it is down to us to be careful and keep the companies we run in a good strong position to re-start live events. Showmasters and its sister companies are safe and in a good place ready to start up again once we are able. We ran our first small comic mart last month within the COVID safe guidelines provided by the government. We were praised for how we delivered this first event but running a large scale one with the lockdown rules in place and with only 4 days clearance is just not possible so we will regroup and focus our efforts on delivery an amazing event in November. Once again thank you for your help and support. We are all fans here and are desperate to get back to live events where we can come together to enjoy what we all love. Until that day we want you to all stay safe and to take care of yourself and your loved ones and we will see you soon. Thank you everyone Jason Joiner Director

Hey everyone, A new update has been posted: https://showmastersonline.com/forums/index.php?/topic/98659-official-update-12102020/

Hi everyone, We hope you are all doing well and managed to keep yourself safe over the past 8 months, we have really missed seeing you as this is not just a job for us it is our lives. We would also like to thank you for all the wonderful messages of support we have received over these months. You are the best! Following the most recent updates from the government and reviewing our plans with the venue and the guests we have taken the decision to further postpone The London Film & Comic Con that was due to take place in November 2020 (Previously July 2020). In addition, after long thought and thorough discussions we are also going to skip our London Comic Con Spring (due to take place February 2021) as we feel at this time there will be complications in bringing you the US guests. Even if a vaccine is in production by then it will take time to administer and there will still be little or no run in time that is needed to deliver large events like our Comic Cons and give you the events that you have come to expect from us. Therefore, we will have LFCC and YALC to look forward to on 23-25th July 2021. Showmasters Events have been through difficult times before such as recessions and volcanic ash issues so we knew we had to get on top of everything fast when things first got locked down. We are in a good way with our venues where they are working with us, as they want to carry on with the events as soon as we can. Our guests are also so eager to join us as soon as we are out the other side of the pandemic so when things are ready to go live again we are also ready. All our staff are fine and well, some are allocated to other projects and the others are talking to new guests and agents ready for the when the first shows start up. We have had overwhelming interest from agents who want to get their guests into the first shows, so it’s going to be great as soon as we do get to the point where we can get going again. We know that these are uncertain times but we wanted to let you all know that Showmasters Events, Massive Events and our sister companies are all in great shape ready to start up again when we have the go-ahead and it’s safe to do so. In a way, all the time we have had over the pandemic has given us the chance to make new contacts and get more new guests interested in attending our events so we feel 2021 could be one of our best years for meeting guests yet (more info on this to follow soon). Our aim is always to deliver well run, fun events with the high calibre of guests you know us for. All tickets already purchased for LFCC 2020 will be valid for the new July 2021 dates so there is no further action needed to be taken on your part. If you cannot make the new dates then if you email shop@showmastersevents.com you will be issued a digital voucher that can be used at any Showmasters event, any time up to two years of issue. We are very grateful for your help in supporting the events in this way we all love so we don’t have to rebuild them up slowly over several years like we had to in the past. By leaving the funds with us it ensures that we have the budgets to bring you the massive guests that we all want to meet and to keep the guest line up we already have in place for the next event. You, the fans, are able to help keep the comic con future safe and strong by supporting us in this way, so thank you all for this. Anyone that is able to support us in this way will also be remembered at the events when using the transferred tickets or using your voucher as it will have been you that have has helped in this way, so watch out for a few cool thankyous that we have planned in 2021. Once again thank you for your help, support and trust and we will never let you down. We are all fans here and we are just looking forward to the day where you’re all with us again in person and we can come together to enjoy what we all love; Be one family of fans enjoying life and the world of comic cons together again. We want you to all stay safe and to take care of yourself and your loved ones and we will see you soon. We will be announcing our guest line up for July 2021 over the coming weeks and are looking into the majority of the guests from the postponed events already announced being reconfirmed as they want to meet you all. In addition, more will be confirmed as soon as we have signed contracts. We want to bring you some fab experiences to make up for the lack of them in 2020 so please watch this space. We promise they are exciting. Thank you everyone Jason and the entire Showmasters family

Something for the weekend..

Of course we're all gutted we can't be in Glasgow right now enjoying ourselves with you lovely people. We'd love to hear about your favourite memories and see your best photos! Who are your favourites that you'd love to see make a return to Glasgow in the future? We can't wait to see you all again!

Will be keeping the main topic updated with the relevant dates of our general and themed sales. So keep an eye out for anything that might interest you!

Keep an eye on our main topic as we're doing lots of general AND themed sales!

Missing our events? We have plenty of sales running at the moment over on our Facebook pages which are great for picking up a bargain! Who's managed to get something so far?

No particular date. Just as soon as it's all sorted. As you can imagine, there's a lot of logistics and moving parts to this situation. We want everything to be as clear as possible in line with guidance and to make the experience as comfortable as possible for everyone.

I've tidied up this topic and responded to a few people by private message with instructions :) Thanks everyone.

Me too! Definitely right up there at the top of my list.

Yes - I don't have exact details right now, but yes there will be flexibility.

Hopefully you can make it to another one in the future :) not sure I can go myself, but itching to get back to something!

I've asked and apparently no cutoff date :)

Hey everyone, An official update has been posted: Quite long but we wanted to get all the details as clear as possible. Please have a read and let us know if you have any questions. Thanks.

Dear Friends, What a crazy time the last 4 months have been! First off I want to say that we hope you are safe and well, and we want you all to stay that way. We do have some news that many of you may have worked out by now, but with the Corona Virus issue still affecting our day-to-day life we have had to take the hard decision to postpone July's London Film and Comic Con until a little later in the year, November 2020. I want to take a moment to bring you up to date on our plans with the on-going situation and also some of the things that we have had to take into consideration so we are in a position where we can deliver the events you have come to expect from us. There is a lot to go over and its important to us to be transparent and honest with you all, so please take some time to go though it. Thanks so much :-) 1). Thank you everyone for being patient and understanding as things have unfolded with the continuing fluidity of this exceptional situation. We wanted to weigh up what’s best for you all, the guests, and the hobby that we all love and enjoy, and having this time over last few weeks has been helpful to get our plan together, so thank you for that. We have been able to learn as much as we can about what we are dealing with and as such we do have a plan that will work to bring all events back online as soon as it's safe to do so and we can all enjoy them again. 2). London Film and Comic Con will now take place on 20th to 22nd November 2020. This will still be a 3 day event and will be pretty much the same as what we had planned for the summer date. There will clearly be some changes to protect peoples health and safety and we will have much more info about this and the guidelines that will be in place in the next few weeks and months, as your health and safety is our number one priority. 3). All tickets for London Film and Comic will be automatically transferred to the new November date. YALC will also be moved, but to our July 2021 London Film and Comic Con ( 23rd to 25th July 2021), and all tickets for that will also be transferred to its new date. If you cannot attend the new dates then a digital credit voucher will be issued upon request. This voucher will be good to use for any future Showmasters events up until the day after July 2021 London Film and Comic Con, (26th July 2021). At that point, should you have not used your voucher, upon request you will get a full refund. 4). Guests that have all confirmed to attend the new London Film and Comic Con date in November : Alan Ruck John Wesley Shipp Clark Gregg Robbie Coltrane Elizabeth Mitchell Steven R McQueen Andrew Gower Ashely Walters Noel Clarke Staz Nair Natalia Tena Anjili Mohindra Sacha Dhawan Misty Rosas Nick Frost Simon McBurney Mark Boone Jr Kim Coates Harry Manfredini Amanda Tapping Ben Browder Tom Skerritt Veronica Cartright Jason O Mara Mark Pellegrino Clare Kramer Karen Allen Barry Bostwick Emmy Raven-Lampman Sam Humphrey Julian Glover Julian Holloway Meat Loaf Riz Ahmed Sylvester McCoy Colin Baker Mandeep Dhillon Omid Abtahi David Ramsey - Fri only 5). There are a few names below we do not yet have the final sign off to attend the new date, but that is just a formality and it looks like they will be attending. Ming-Na Wen Aaron Paul Alice Cooper Mat Fraser Danielle Nicolet Scott Ian Jesse T Usher 6). We also have a few guests who we know cannot make the new November date and we are working on them being rescheduled to future events as follows. They are : Ernie Hudson - LFCC July 2021 TBC Henry Thomas - LFCC July 2021 Comfirmed Dee Wallace - LFCC July 2021 Confirmed Robert MacNaughten - LFCC July 2021 Confirmed David Warner - LFCC July 2021 TBC Sean Biggerstaff - London Comic Con Spring 27th & 28th Feb 2021 Confirmed 7). We also have 6 brand new guests for our November London Film and Comic Con and they are : Marc Blucas - Riley from Buffy The Vampire Slayer Anna-Louise Plowman - Osiris from Stargate SG-1 Ron Millkie - Friday 13th Sin Cara - Wrestler Road Warrior Animal - Wrestler P J Black - Wrestler 8). The above are just the start of the guest line up for London Film and Comic Con in November and now we have this new date set we can start to book in and close more amazing guests to complete the line-up . The one positive thing from the virus is that so many new guests are wanting to get out and attend our Comic Con. Productions are being bumped and put on hold and there is a back-log meaning we are now being offered amazing guests we have wanted to book for years! So watch this space as we will have a great line-up for you :-) So this is how it's going to work if you have already purchased tickets to London Film and Comic Con : 1). All tickets will be transferred to the new November date for London Film and Comic Con automatically. You do not need to do anything for this to happen. 2). If you cannot attend the new date in November then you will need to contact us on shop@showmastersevents.com and we will issue you a voucher for the amount of money you have paid. That voucher will be good to be used up until the day after July 2021 London Film and Comic Con, (26th July 2021), at which point any amount not used on the voucher will be eligible for a full refund. 3). Thank you for your support on this and because you all are working with and helping us in this crazy time, we plan to keep each of your names on file and we will find additional ways of thanking you over the next 12 months. We have great working relationships with many of film companies and we have talked at length with them with some very cool ideas in the works. So you will benefit in helping us though this crazy time as well as ensuring the next event will again be a world class Comic Con that you will play an integral part in as always. Some facts that you may not know and will help you understand why we have taken this path with vouchers for this year. 1). Because the government has not put a ban on public events all the contacts between venues and events still stand and are still binding to us. Venues are also in a tough place and while most are now starting to agree to transfer the booking to later dates, none are prepared to just return money already paid to them. So we can run an event in the future with the money we have pre-paid a venue, but we can’t get the money back. Consequently we have a lot of funds tied up with venues over the year that we cannot use right now. 2). This is also a similar case with most airlines and tickets we have booked for guests. They will only give us a refund if the flight is officially cancelled by the airline itself and that will not happen until around a week out from the date of the flight, (immediately before the show's dates). As we book around £300,000 worth of flights this also ties up a lot of funds that we again cannot get back until the show takes place. 3). The guests that are booked to attend our events we either have already part paid or fully paid in advance, which is fine normally. Also, most of these guests have agreed to attend the new dates so again this is funds that are tied up with them and not with us! So I think you can see what we are saying here. We have a lot of money that we have already paid out to venues, guests and flights that is safe but we will not be able to get it back before we run the event! Everything here is in a good way but if we were to refund everyone right now it would start to limit the planned guest line-ups and could make it harder for us to get the shows back on track as soon as we hope. There are people saying that things will not be back to normal for years, but we have a plan to buck against that with issuing the vouchers and transferring the tickets to the new date. It will make it possible for us to deliver the amazing events you know and love and get back to how they used to be, or even bigger, sooner. Your money is totally safe and in many cases it's 100% where it should be, with the guests, the venues and the flights needed to run these huge events! The issue is we have just had to move the dates. It does sound so simple when I say it like this!!!! :-) We now have all this in place and it has taken a lot of our time up to ensure we have the best system for this to work smoothly. We can now spend our time on new guests. As said before many films and TV shows are on hold and its looking like the backlog of production is going to help us with availability of guests for the next few big events so closing some of these A List guests is now our first priority and booking them in to the November show :-). I am sure all organisers find themselves in differing situations as every event is unique. We have acted to solve our challenges this way. Our events are quite different to other comic cons where we book around 500+ guests and many big names a year, and we are locked in and dependant on booking guests. So this is our fix and it may be different to other organisers who also have there own challenges to deal with and we do wish them and everyone in the hobby well in this odd time. We will implement all health and safety requirements at all our events until this virus is under control. We care and respect your safety and we all need to look after one another to get though this tough time. No one could forsee any of this last year and we are stable and sensible people and would never risk damaging the trust you have built up in us and the events we run. With such an unexpected chain of events we wanted to be honest and upfront and tell the truth and share with you all that we have planned and the challenges we had to deal with. We have been running events in the hobby for around 30 years and we are good, honest, trustworthy fans that just want to get back to putting on some of the best Comic Cons in the world. With your help and trust we will get back on track very soon. We really do miss you all and it has left a big emptiness with the entire team here. Fandom is a very powerful thing and together we will once again create many amazing new memories that will last a life time. Thank you, friends, and we will see you soon. Take care and stay safe! Jason and the Showmasters family OUR COMIC CON DATES FOR 2020 & 2021 2020 15th & 16th August Film & Comic Con Glasgow Braehead Arena, Glasgow 5th & 6th September Collectormania Birmingham The NEC, Birmingham 12th & 13th September Collectormania Milton Keynes Planet Ice, Milton Keynes 20th to 22nd November The London Film and Comic Con Olympia, London 2021 27th & 28th February London Comic Con Spring Olympia, London 8th & 9th May Film and Comic Con Belfast Titanic Exhibition Centre, Belfast 23rd to 25th July The London Film and Comic Con Olympia, London 14th & 15th August Film & Comic Con Glasgow Braehead Arena, Glasgow 20th & 21st November London Comic Con Winter Olympia, London

Really nice guy. Definitely worth meeting.

And they're often announced for multiple events at the same time if it's happening.

Very unlikely a fly-over guest would come back so quickly unfortunately.

Please don't spam the topic with the same suggestions.

He's actually been announced and attended previously :)

You should be fine.

I don't think there's anything to explain. Lineup is down to personal taste as always.

It's all down to personal opinion. Clearly you wanted to meet him for it. Many wouldn't have. It's not like Shawshank has a huge following of collectors etc. Makes sense to me to advertise as Aliens and Star Trek to a convention audience.

No one can comment on unannounced guests sorry.