VidCon is an annual convention for fans, creators, executives, and online brands. The event primarily features prominent video stars from across the internet. In October 2020, VidCon Now relaunched as an ongoing, free digital offering. Veteran YouTube creators John and Hank Green ( Vlogbrothers) founded VidCon, which Viacom (now Paramount) later acquired in 2018. Its offices remain in

Missoula, Montana Missoula ( ; fla, label= Séliš, Nłʔay, lit=Place of the Small Bull Trout, script=Latn; kut, Tuhuⱡnana, script=Latn) is a city in the U.S. state of Montana; it is the county seat of Missoula County. It is located along the Clark Fork Ri ...

, sharing a building with Complexly. VidCon’s international presence continues to expand with additional events planned in Singapore, Abu Dhabi, Mexico City, and São Paulo.

History

The first VidCon was held on July 9–11, 2010, at the

Hyatt Regency Century Plaza The Fairmont Century Plaza is a landmark 19-story luxury hotel in Los Angeles. Located in Century City, the hotel forms a sweeping crescent design fronting the Avenue of the Stars, adjacent to the twin Century Plaza Towers and the 2000 Avenue of ...

hotel in Los Angeles and sold out in advance, with over 1,400 people attending. In February 2018, Viacom (owner of the Viacom Media Networks and film studio

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

) announced that they were acquiring VidCon, as part of its efforts to expand its live events business and expand from TV programming to next-generation entertainment platforms. Jim Louderback will remain the CEO of the convention, and co-founder Hank Green will continue to be involved and work closely with the team. Its offices will also exist in

. Internet reception to this acquisition was mixed, with some noting the irony of Viacom acquiring VidCon a decade after their lawsuit against Google and YouTube for copyright infringement. Hank Green reassured fans that Viacom's acquisition would allow the convention to flourish. Three conferences were cancelled in 2020 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

, and a series of online programming, VidCon Now, became available for registration. In March 2021, VidCon announced that it would host its next U.S. conference at the Anaheim Convention Center from October 22–24, 2021, delayed from its usual summer scheduling in order to increase the chance that an in-person event could be held. VidCon also announced that

TikTok TikTok, known in China as Douyin (), is a short-form video hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from 15 seconds to 10 minutes. TikTok is an international version ...

would be the top sponsor of the 2021 event, replacing

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

who had been the main sponsor since 2013. On August 20, however, VidCon announced the cancellation of its 2021 event "due to the recent increases in COVID-19 cases n Californiaand evolving health and safety mandates." The convention was rescheduled to June 22–25, 2022 in Anaheim.

Attendance

International conventions

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:VidCon Web-related conferences Green brothers Internet culture Social media Virtual communities Computer-related introductions in 2010 Recurring events established in 2010 Nickelodeon Paramount Global subsidiaries