Dragon Con To Require Attendees Have Proof Of Vaccination Or Negative COVID Test

Organizers of Atlanta’s long-running multimedia and pop culture convention Dragon Con announced a change to their attendance policy on Tuesday — requiring all attendees to either have proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test in the wake of the delta variant currently ravaging the state. 

Dragon Con is making a return on Labor Day weekend after canceling 2020's event in favor of an "online-only" experience in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The convention will be one of the largest events held in the city since the pandemic began.

Dragon Con spokesperson Dan Carroll said the convention’s decision to require vaccination proof or a negative test came after seeing similar concerns and procedures put in place by other city events.

"With the rise of cases, particularly in the state of Georgia, we realized that we needed to go one step further and actually follow the lead of other conventions and also of other events here in Atlanta," he said.

Dragon Con has brought tens of thousands of sci-fi, fantasy, and pop culture fans to downtown Atlanta every Labor Day weekend since its inception in the late 1980s.

Carroll said that the convention is currently not planning additional measures to day-of procedures at the convention, but is watching how events surrounding the delta variant unfold.

"If the reality changes, we're going to adapt," he said.

In 2019, over 80,000 people attended the convention. This year, all events and panels will be held at two-thirds capacity.