VidCon Baltimore is cancelled, with VidCon saying it’ll dedicate “full efforts and resources” to Anaheim event

VidCon Baltimore has been cancelled.

The East Coast edition of VidCon held its first event in 2023 and was well into ticket sales for its 2024 iteration, which was due to take place Sept. 26-29 at the Baltimore Convention Center.

But VidCon says that event is no longer happening, and that its cancellation “will allow the company to dedicate its full efforts and resources to VidCon’s flagship event in Anaheim, scheduled for Summer 2025.”

Calling the cancellation a “difficult decision,” VidCon added that it “[wants] to thank the city of Baltimore and all the fans and creators who attended the East Coast event last year and hope[s] to see everyone in Anaheim next summer.”

Anyone who already bought tickets to VidCon Baltimore 2024 will have their cash refunded in full by 11:59 p.m. EST July 19.

VidCon tells Tubefilter it has no plans to cancel VidCon Mexico, which is scheduled for Aug. 9-11 in Mexico City. Its event there last year drew 12,000 attendees; we don’t have numbers on VidCon Baltimore, but we do know 85,000 people total attended VidCon, VidCon Baltimore, and VidCon São Paulo in 2023, with 55,000 going to the main Anaheim event.

There does not appear to be an event scheduled in São Paulo for this year. The future of these two satellite conventions beyond 2024 is not yet clear.

This decision comes as VidCon owner Paramount Global—which has been struggling since Viacom and CBS merged to create it in 2019—is reportedly exploring selling the convention. According to an April report from Adweek, Paramount Global hired the bank Oaklins DeSilva+Phillips to look into a sale.

Sources familiar with the matter told Adweek Paramount Global is looking for “a strategic buyer rather than a private equity firm, and the event series not seen as a ‘distressed asset.'” But it still seems some belt-tightening is happening as Paramount Global prepares to merge with Skydance, with renewed focus on sports licensing and plans to redesign streaming service Paramount+.

While we don’t know how VidCon Baltimore fared last year in terms of attendance, we do know that when Hank and John Green founded VidCon in 2010, there was nothing like it. Fourteen years later, the digital content space has grown and matured, and there are several other major annual events, including VidSummit, Creator Economy Live, and TwitchCon, that bring creators together to celebrate our industry and where it’s going.