SAN DIEGO — Hugh Jackman, Ryan Reynolds, Chris Hemsworth and the Women of Wrestling were just some of the stars spotted at Comic-Con 2024, which had its biggest year since the pandemic.
“Comic con is, by far, the biggest event that we host each year,” said Maren Dougherty, Executive Director of Marketing and Communications for the San Diego Convention Center.
Dougherty said they had a packed house all-week with more than 135,000 attendees.
“We couldn't be happier with how Comic-Con went this year. It really was the full return of Comic Con," she said.
The final numbers are still being tallied, but organizers are expecting the economic impact to be around $160 million.
“The last four days of Comic Con, we hit our sales record, four days in a row,” said Evan Robinson, Front House Manager at Hasta Mañana Cantina.
The restaurant and bar is just a block away from the convention center.
“Walking up and down 5th Avenue, it's just a crowd of happy, energetic, and most importantly accepting people. It's just really cool to see just about everybody - just what they love and letting their freak flag fly," he said.
Robinson says he got the feeling that, for many attendees, this was like their Super Bowl. They look forward to it all year and come here with the intention to spend money.
“When they're spending $1,000 on their costume, I don't think they mind spending $50 on a few margaritas and a taco,” he said.
Around the Gaslamp, the cleanup effort is now well underway. Crews are breaking down sets, piling up barriers, and pulling wraps off the sides of buildings.
It'll take about three days to clean everything up and get the Gaslamp back to the way it was. In July 2025, we'll do it all again.
“We start planning for next year before this year even ends!,” Dougherty said.
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