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Rival convention to VidCon shut down due to poor execution and safety concerns.
Tana Mongeau, a popular YouTuber ventured to put on her own event for herself and other creators. TanaCon being held the same weekend as VidCon was always going to be a challenge. However, the problem was not getting people to show up.
In fact, this convention was quite the opposite;
20,000 people were reportedly standing outside for hours and hours. With no shade in the parking lot behind the hotel the event was in, staff did not even hand out water.
just got word that there are literally 20,000 people outside right now. Vid con was expecting 30,000. That's absolutely insane, and I'm so overwhelmed by that kind of support. I never would've thought that this could even happen. 20,000 fucking people wanting to get into my event
— DIZZY WINE (@tanamongeau) June 22, 2018
At last year’s VidCon, Mongeau was not given a featured creators badge. This meant she attended and her fans swarmed but no help or management was put into place. She made a video and although the creator of VidCon Hank Green made a statement, Tana set in motion to start her own convention.
Although, Tana’s efforts to create a space for creators and fans to be safe and equal proved difficult. Moreover, things quickly turned chaotic. Of the 20,000 people in the car park, many of them were simply unregistered guests. This caused many who had bought their TanaCon passes to be upset and angry.
Amongst this, there were reports of people feeling unwell from being forced to stay in the sun with no cover. Many of whom were just there to see Shane Dawson and Bella Thorne, two of the named creators at the event.
https://twitter.com/Lovely_asf/status/1010238353898258432
Conventions are something that has to be built up and understood from all angles. Tana’s main concern about VidCon was safety for herself as a creator. However, even without the people who had not bought tickets showing up, there were huge welfare issues for her existing fan base. It was her duty to keep them as well as herself safe, and this sadly did not deliver.
How about a convention going on for years? Who will you be for Comic Con this year?
