Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Anime Expo was one of the thousands of annual conventions in all sorts of niches which have had to transition to an online format in 2020 and 2021. Sadly for Anime Expo, this also meant that their 30th Anniversary celebration year had to also be delivered in an online format – albeit one which received more than 375,000 viewers from anime fans in over 100 countries.
The 2021 ‘Lite’ program featured a number of events anyone could enjoy during its video-on-demand period (5 July – 16 July inclusive), including:
- Sneak Peek of Star Wars: Visions
- World Premiere of Shikizakura
- LisAni!LIVE L.A. Concert which featured performances from ASCA, BURNOUT SYNDROMES, JO☆STARS, Liella! ( Love Live! Superstar!!), and Morfonica (BanG Dream!),
Among a range of other activities.
For Anime Expo 2022 however, the team behind the event are reinforcing their plans to transition back to the Los Angeles Convention Center from 1 July 2022 – 4 July 2022 for an in-person convention. Time will tell whether that goal is acomplished.
“For the 2nd year in a row, Anime Expo was held online due to the Covid pandemic, but we were gratified and amazed at the continued strong support we received from so many fans from around the world.
We presented a comprehensive array of panel events, exclusive premieres, and sneak peeks, and music performances and made a sizeable donation to Hate Is A Virus, which will help them continue their work to battle anti-Asian discrimination and defamation, which continues to AAPI communities across the nation. As we look ahead to next year, we are excited to announce the return of Anime Expo to the Los Angeles Convention Center on July 1-4, 2022, and to welcoming back all of our fans, exhibitors, and participants.
Ray Chiang – CEO of the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA)
