Tens of thousands expected to attend Emerald City Comic Con

SEATTLE — Emerald City Comic Com is back in Seattle and thousands of people will descend on downtown this weekend for the annual convention, which has seen some ups and downs over the last few years.

The ECCC was held in 2019 but was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It returned in December 2021 after a delay that again was blamed on COVID-19.

This year the convention runs from Thursday, Aug. 18 to Sunday, Aug. 21.

KIRO 7 spoke with one of the event managers, Christopher D’Lando, early Thursday as the convention was getting set up. He said that the organizers anticipate about 65,000 people coming to the convention, which would put it solidly in the territory of attendance numbers before the pandemic. He also stressed that the convention will feel a lot more like it did before COVID-19.

The general convention runs each day from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. with the exception of Sunday, when things wrap up at 5 p.m.. Panels run from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily except for Sunday, and a gaming zone will be open 10 a.m. to midnight every day, with the exception of Sunday.

Celebrity guests will also be returning in force for this year’s convention. Billie Piper and Christopher Eccleston, both of “Dr Who” fame, will be at the convention. They are the stars who helped reboot, revamp and reinvigorate the British science fiction series when it relaunched in 2005.

Brendan Fraser, who starred in the movie “The Mummy,” will also be at the convention. He has had a star turn lately and was in the HBO Max superhero series “Doom Patrol.”

Freddie Prinze Jr. and Rachel Leigh Cook both starred in the film “She’s All That,” but lately they’ve been in different projects. Both will be at the convention this year. Prinze has loaned his voice talents to the animated “Star Wars Rebels,” while his former co-star Cook was also in “Josie and the Pussycats.”

Netflix will also have a presence at the convention with Emmy Raver-Lampman attending after starring in “The Umbrella Academy.”

Christopher D’Lando says dozens of other celebrities across many different kinds of media will be attending and he expects fan attendance will be up significantly as people try to resume a normal Comic Con experience.

“Folks are coming back to events in their own time. What I can say is attendance is up pretty significantly over 2021′s show,” said D’Lando.

He also said that the anticipation and buildup for this year’s convention has felt more like conventions that came before the pandemic and that people on all sides of the convention are echoing that sentiment.

“The community aspect of these shows is something that we’ve all missed, whether it’s our fans and attendees which are who we do the show for — our exhibitors, our vendors and our staff. We are fans first. We are just so excited to be back here,” said D’Lando.

There is going to be an artist’s alley this year with 450 groups selling prints and original artwork. The artists’ alley will feature local Northwest artists, which could be a draw for locals across the region.

COVID-19 is still a factor, though on the website for the Emerald City Comic Con there is guidance for COVID-19 protocols:

“Approved face coverings will be required throughout all areas of the show and we are strongly recommending the use of high-quality face coverings while at the show, such as a certified N95, KN95, or KN94 mask. You can find more information here on our guidance on acceptable facial coverings. Face coverings will be available onsite, but we recommend you bring your own.”

Health and safety guidelines are also posted online.

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