Conventions and live events are playing it safe when it comes to bookings in the Los Angeles area, according to a report from the Board of the Dept. of Convention and Tourism Development Commissioners.
In one big move, the Electronic Entertainment Expo, known as E3, has backed down from previous plans to stage a live show and will instead do a virtual event.
E3 2020 was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic last June, and this marks the second year in a row without a physical event. Last year, many publishers and game developers staged their own virtual events, which may hurt future mass gatherings like E3 as vendors become more comfortable with the format.
Similarly, the Anime Expo will go virtual over July 4th instead of its planned gathering. The Expo is still planning on signing a deal to stage shows in Los Angeles through 2030, the department reported.
BET’s music and events festival, The Experience, will not hold its live event at Los Angeles Community College. But it will go forward with scheduled awards and other events.
The Los Angeles Marathon will also delay its yearly jaunt through the city’s streets. It will now be moved to the fall, when presumably the pandemic has quieted.
So far, the city has year-end goals of 176 leads and 362,725 projected room nights for 2021, noting
that booked room nights include events rebooked into future years. It also said that bookings for 2022 and beyond “is gaining momentum.”
Darren Green, the Sr. VP of Sales and Services, reported that 17 events in 2020 and 8 in 2021
cancelled or rebooked, He note that the numbers are expected to grown once the uncertainty over when the city can again fully open to large events becomes clearer. He added that the city is working to woo virtual events into broadcasting from Los Angeles.
