Events organizer Cosplay.ph has announced on Monday that both Cosplay Carnival and Anime & Cosplay Expo (ACX) events has been cancelled due to COVID-19.
The organizers said in a statement that due to the public health situation, they have decided not to push through the two events for the safety and well-being of their attendees.
Cosplay Carnival 2020 was slated to be held on April 18-19, but was postponed due to the declaration of Code Red Sub-level 2 emergency response, and eventually the declaration of the Enhanced Community Quarantine in the entire Luzon island.
In an earlier post on their Facebook page, they initially set June 20-21 as a tentative rescheduled date for the event, and has posted guidelines for physical distancing and temperature checks, among others.
ACX 2020 was scheduled to be held on July 18-19, 2020.
But with the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID)’s guidelines on the General Community Quarantine, which prevents mass gatherings to be held, it made the holding the event all the more uncertain.
The event organizer also said that they are continuing to monitor the situation if Cosplay Mania 2020, their flagship event, and Cosplay Matsuri 2020, could be held within this year.
“Due to this, the Isekai Adventure series will also be pushed to 2021 instead.” the event organizer said, referring to the theme of this year’s event series.
Event attendees seeking refund of their tickets may wish to check the SM Tickets refund guidelines on the page, while exhibitors and sponsors will receive a message from the organizers on the process.
Cosplay Carnival is one of the four events that composed the Cosplay Mania Event Series by Cosplay.ph, which also serves as the organizer’s first event of the year.
The first event was held as a two-day event in February 2016, and usually held during the first quarter of the year. This year was supposed to be the first time that the event will be held during the second quarter of the year.
Anime & Cosplay Expo (ACX) 2020, on the other hand, serves as the preview event to Cosplay Mania, where they announce its first set of invited guests.
The first event was held as a two-day event in September 2016 at SM Megamall Megatrade Hall, before they moving to SMX Convention Center in July 2018. The event is usually held during the third quarter of the year.
Cosplay Mania 2020, which is the organizer’s flagship anime and cosplay event, is currently scheduled for October 3-4, 2020, while Cosplay Matsuri 2020, which serves as their year-ender event, is set on December 28-30.
