2020 loses 2 more large events as Comic-Con, Taylor Swift tour are scrapped

File this one under "the year 2020 itself is canceled," as two more big events are officially off until 2021.

San Diego Comic-Con, which was scheduled for July, on Friday was canceled for the first time ever due to the coronavirus pandemic, a move that increasingly looked inevitable even as organizers said earlier this month they were "hopeful" the convention could somehow still happen. They said Friday they had "hoped to delay this decision in anticipation that COVID-19 concerns might lessen by summer," but "continuous monitoring of health advisories" made it clear having the event this year wouldn't be safe. Comic-Con will next take place in July 2021.

This decision came after California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said earlier this week that "the prospect of mass gatherings is negligible at best until we get to herd immunity and we get to a vaccine," while Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti similarly warned that "it's difficult to imagine us getting together in the thousands anytime soon, so I think we should be prepared for that this year."

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Around the same time Comic-Con was officially scrapped, Taylor Swift announced Friday she's canceling all of her performances scheduled for 2020 and postponing them to 2021, saying that "fighting COVID-19 is an unprecedented challenge for our global community and the safety and wellbeing of fans should always be the top priority."

Among the large upcoming events whose status is still in question include the Cannes Film Festival, though organizers recently acknowledged that having it in June like they hoped isn't possible and it's "clearly difficult to assume" it can happen anytime in 2020 in its "original form." And seeming to recognize just how unlikely any large gatherings are for the foreseeable future, Facebook on Thursday announced it would be canceling all events with more than 50 people through June of 2021.