VidCon

The first VidCon was held in July 9–11, 2010 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza hotel in Los Angeles and sold out in advance[6] with over 1,400 people attending.[7] The first day featured industry panels and presentations by industry leaders and video creators. The second and third day featured main stage presentations by YouTube's content creators, breakout sessions and concerts featuring musicians who achieved success primarily by presenting their music via online videos.[8]

VidCon 2011 was held in July 29–30, 2011, with an industry conference day on July 28, again at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza hotel in Los Angeles. The event sold out sixty days prior to its opening,[9] with 2,500 people in attendance.[10][11]

The Gregory Brothers at VidCon 2012

VidCon 2012, the third annual conference, was held in June 28–30, 2012 at the Anaheim Convention Center.[12] The new venue offered a much larger capacity with room for future expansion, with 7,000 people in attendance.[13][14]

VidCon 2013 was held in August 1–3, 2013 at the Anaheim Convention Center. The conference sold out a month in advance with attendance reaching 12,000 people.[15] YouTube signed a deal in 2013 to become the principal sponsor of VidCon for two years.[16]

Our2ndLife at VidCon 2014

VidCon 2014 was held in June 26–28, 2014 at the Anaheim Convention Center.[17]

The industry track featured talks given by YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, DreamWorks co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg, and Fullscreen CEO George Strompolos, as well as VidCon cofounder John Green. Troye Sivan also announced his EP, TRXYE.

There were various concerts during the convention including We The Kings and Meghan Tonjes.

VidCon 2015 took place on July 23–25, 2015, at the Anaheim Convention Center.[18] The number of people attending was limited, so there would only be slightly more people than in 2014. However, the space was enlarged, with the convention taking up the entire Convention Center.[19] There were over 300 YouTube creators who performed, exhibited and connected with the attendees. Troye Sivan announced his new EP, WILD.

VidCon 2015 used a new system for fans to meet the creators, requiring Community members to sign up a month in advance to meet specific creators.

VidCon 2016 was held from June 23–25 at the Anaheim Convention Center.[20] The convention announced plans to tighten security at its events in the wake of singer Christina Grimmie's shooting and the Orlando nightclub massacre. Security measures included the addition of metal detectors, enhancing the number of security officers and banning informal meet-and-greets between community members and YouTubers after panels.

VidCon Europe debuted from April 7–9, 2017, at the Amsterdam RAI Exhibition and Convention Centre in Amsterdam.[21]

VidCon US was held from June 21–24, 2017, at the Anaheim Convention Center.[22]

VidCon Australia debuted on September 9–10, 2017, at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre in Melbourne.[23]

VidCon Europe was held from March 22–24, 2018, at the Mövenpick Hotel Amsterdam.[24] Unlike 2017, VidCon Europe 2018 did away with the Community badge, only selling Creator and Industry badges. This was the result of "evaluated feedback" of Community Track attendees from 2017. VidCon sought to "leverage [its] success with the creator and industry communities and continue to build an independent gathering to expand the cross-cultural YouTube and online video movement across Europe."[25]

VidCon US was held from June 20–23, 2018, at the Anaheim Convention Center.[26] This was the first year VidCon implemented the use of RFID wristbands.[27]

VidCon Australia was held from August 31-September 2, 2018, at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre.[28]

In February 2018, Viacom (owner of the Viacom Media Networks and film studio Paramount Pictures) announced that they were acquiring VidCon, as part of its efforts to expand its live-events business, and to expand from TV programming to next-generation entertainment platforms. Jim Louderback will remain as the CEO of the convention, and co-founder Hank Green will continue be involved and work closely with the team. Its offices will also remain in Missoula, Montana.[29][30] Internet reception to this acquisition was mixed, with some noting the irony of Viacom acquiring VidCon a decade after their lawsuit against Google and YouTube for copyright infringement. Hank Green reassured fans that Viacom's acquisition will allow the convention to flourish.[31]

VidCon Europe was held from February 14–17, 2019 at the ExCel London.[32]

VidCon US was held from July 10–13, 2019, at the Anaheim Convention Center.[33]

VidCon Australia was held from September 19–22, 2019, at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.

During Vidcon US, Vidcon announced that the inaugural Vidcon Asia (formally Vidcon Asia Summit) will debut from December 3–4, 2019.[34][35][36][37] It was held at the Raffles City Convention Centre in Singapore.[34][35][36][37]

VidCon London was held from February 20–23, 2020 at the ExCel London.[38]

VidCon Abu Dhabi would have been held from March 25–28, 2020 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, but was postponed to December 16–19, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[39]

VidCon Mexico would have been held from April 30-May 3, 2020 at the Citibanamex Center, but was postponed to September 17–20, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[40]

VidCon US would have been held from June 17–20, 2020 at the Anaheim Convention Center, but it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[41][42]

On June 15, VidCon announced on their Twitter that the 2020 edition will be held virtually on YouTube, called VidCon Now. The event will feature creators such as James Charles, Brent Rivera, Sam Tsui, etc. The event will be held from June 20th- July 6th.[43]

After being reportedly snubbed and restricted at past VidCon events, YouTube star Tana Mongeau decided to create her own convention, TanaCon (deemed by some to be the Anti-VidCon).[49] While this move was initially applauded by fans and fellow YouTubers (who had also taken issue with VidCon's past handling of creators), TanaCon 2018 was ultimately deemed a failure. The event took place at the Anaheim Marriott Suites, a hotel situated in the Anaheim Convention Center complex during the same weekend as VidCon 2018. Reportedly, 4,000 to 5,000[50][51] fans showed up for a venue that only held 1,150 (an oversight exacerbated by the pre-sale of 5,000 tickets).[52] The event was shut down by police, with many receiving first-degree and second-degree sunburns from standing outside waiting in LA's June heat. At least one attendee had to be hospitalized, following an injury that occurred during a door rush in the overcrowded hotel.[53] Starting in July, fans began to receive refunds for pre-sale tickets; however, some were still considering filing a class-action lawsuit against Good Times Entertainment, the financial backer for TanaCon, in order to recoup losses from travel and accommodation for the event.[54] Tana was later invited back to Vidcon the following year as a Featured Creator, after a mutual decision between the two parties.[55]