San Diego Comic-Con 2025 officially kicks off

City leaders will officially kick off the 2025 San Diego Comic-Con International Wednesday at the San Diego Convention Center, ushering in five days of comics, games, movies, and art.

The 2025 edition will feature many of the big players the event is known for, but will also not have panels such as the star-studded one Marvel Studios typically puts on.

On Wednesday morning, Mayor Todd Gloria will be joined by City Councilman Stephen Whitburn, Convention Center President and chief executive officer Rip Rippetoe, San Diego Tourism Authority President and CEO Daniel Kuperschmid and Comic- Con’s David Glanzer to officially welcome members of the media to Comic-Con’s Preview Night.

Diego, the “first dog” of San Diego, will also join the event in costume to help kick off the annual convention.

“Comic-Con is an iconic event that brings people from all over the world to San Diego for four days of unforgettable fun,” Gloria said at the kickoff event last year.

“This convention not only celebrates creativity and innovation in popular arts, but also generates significant economic benefits for our local businesses, community and the city itself – the hotel room taxes that these visitors generate make up a healthy portion of our city’s budget.”

Comic-Con 2025 is expected to attract more than 135,000 attendees over its four-day run, generating a regional impact of more than $160 million, which includes both direct and indirect spending by visitors.

In 2022, Comic-Con welcomed more than 135,000 attendees and generated $3 million in hotel and sales tax revenue for the city, according to city documents.

The convention shuttered for two years during the coronavirus pandemic and Comic-Con International received more than $2.5 million in Payment Protection Plan loans, all of which have been forgiven.

Wednesday will be a quieter preview, with the exhibition hall and Artist’s Alley at the SDCC open from 6-9 p.m., allowing merchandise purchases from nearly every strain of superhero, science-fiction, fantasy and pop culture content. The exhibition hall will be open at 9:30 a.m. Thursday through Sunday.

Wednesday’s events include dozens of tabletop and board games, multiple Anime screenings and screenings of the Harrison Ford films “Captain America: Brave New World” and “Air Force One.”

The San Diego Public Library will hold one of Wednesday’s only public events, an interactive workshop for teachers who wish to use comics in their lesson plans.

Peter Carlson of Green Dot Public Schools, Susan Kirtley from Portland State University and Antero Garcia from Stanford University will “guide educators in curating powerful classroom curricula, from mini-lessons to complete units, that incorporate the medium of comics” at the Central Library, Shiley Special Events Suite, 330 Park Blvd.

San Diego’s police and fire-rescue departments have committed additional resources to ensure the safety of visitors both inside and outside of the Convention Center, officials said.

City officials added Wednesday that the public would be restricted from piloting drones in the surrounding MLK Jr. Promenade, Gaslamp area, and near the convention center during Comic-Con.