PAX Australia 2021 is cancelled and everyone is rightfully sad about it
<p class="">It’s for the best, but we’re still sad about it.</p>
PAX Australia 2021 has been cancelled for the second year in a row due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the impact it has on Australia.
In a post shared on their social media platforms this morning, the official PAX account said:
“At the start of the year, we were optimistic that’d we’d all be able to come together in person this October [….] but due to the ongoing impact of COVID-19 in Australia, the next edition of PAX Aus will now take place in 2022. Our thoughts are with our PAX community and everyone who helps us to deliver this incredible vent each year.”
The reaction online has been mostly of understanding and shared sadness in the news. For many, the writing was on the wall that PAX may get cancelled this year as Australia’s COVID-19 cases are only growing on a daily basis, and our vaccination facilities and numbers simply aren’t where they should be.
As hard as it was, there's no regrets and we know it's the right call for everyone. Thank you to everyone who was planning in earnest. As always, you make @PAXAus the thing that it is.
Hopefully we can still get together and do some cool shit at PAX Aus Online.
— Luke (@LGLancaster) August 10, 2021
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scheduling in a cry at 3pm for all the cuties who I won’t see for another year now 😩 https://t.co/SKIZMwhBrz
— Paladin (@PaladinAmber) August 10, 2021
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Absolutely gutted to see this today.
To the PAX Aus teams working on the event, please look after yourselves. I can’t imagine how stressful this has been for all of you 💛
See you in 2022 with bells on 🙏🏼
— iamfallfromgrace (@imfallfromgrace) August 10, 2021
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https://t.co/bURuSk7aj4 pic.twitter.com/t1dbtcxUc2
— Ashley Hobley (@ashleyhobley) August 10, 2021
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seeing all these events be post-ponied again is so shit. We were in such a fantastic position with the pandemic and the government just run it into the ground. ANOTHER year of miss opportunity https://t.co/3CG6JEUVkB
— Burdak of Meteorology 🌦️ (@Tezamondo) August 10, 2021
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The @PAXAus news today is super upsetting. For the gaming community, & for the team that was trying their hardest to put it all together. But the important thing to remember is that the community is what gives PAX its joy & power and we're still here. We'll meet again. 💛 #PAXAus
— Stephanie Bendixsen (@hexsteph) August 10, 2021
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We all knew it was coming and that its the right but it still stings. See you all next year 💛 https://t.co/WI9JHjCT3k
— Buddy Watson (@BuddyWatson12) August 10, 2021
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The right decision.
Doesn’t hurt any less, I miss my friends and miss having the opportunity to make new ones but I know 2022 will be the epic party we deserve after these two train wreck years!
Get vaccinated and be safe so next year we can party together! https://t.co/kYnW9adKoT
— 💖KawaiiKula💖 (@KawaiiKula) August 10, 2021
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i just want to go the pub with basically this entire industry so fucking much. i miss all of you desperately. 😢❤️ https://t.co/X9kIi4L63i
— David Milner (@DaveMilbo) August 10, 2021
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One day we will have those happy memories again that we all deserve. I miss you all. 💖💖💖 https://t.co/7umAtrzWPt
— Sarah Ellen (@Essieteric) August 10, 2021
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Heartbreaking, but 100% the right call.
Come 2022 I’ll have had 2 years to be pretty fit PAX… I better look awesome 😀 https://t.co/wDpDQSu7rR
— Ryan Betson (@HaggardMC) August 10, 2021
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Sucks but it’s for the best. Spare a thought for the @PAXAus and Reedpop teams that worked really hard to try and make this happen. https://t.co/RYxqigNIod
— PEZZ (@Pez_Bro) August 10, 2021
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Some of us from the Icarus team were heading over to this ~ but we decided it wasn't going to be safe enough, especially with possible travel restrictions.
This was the best possible call, for everyone.
Safety comes first 💕 https://t.co/MsGfJjF684— Lorien Gugich (@LoriiPops) August 10, 2021
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I remember having vague hopes when all this started that maybe October 2020 was going to be OK. Here we are, the next year on, and still no dice.
Gutted as I officially clicked cancel on my hotel booking. https://t.co/ZQjpqDFbfW
— Seamus Byrne (@seamus) August 10, 2021
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Unsurprising, but the right move. https://t.co/Z43OX5UU7K
— David Smith (@RhunWords) August 10, 2021
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If I hear one person say "why are you sad, you knew Pax would be cancelled" I am going to head but them.
I am sad (as I am sure many others are ) because it is another year where I am not going to spend time with some of the best people I know.
That is what @PAXAus is. pic.twitter.com/yGgC1hS1i1
— Matt Hewson (@Hewso81) August 10, 2021
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Very sad about this, but I understand the necessity of keeping everyone safe.
Looking forward to PAX Aus Online this year and hoping we as a country can get our shit together so we can go ahead with PAX Aus 2022. https://t.co/uKFgCOCsm4
— Galaxy 💜 @ Endwalker Waiting Room (@galaxyyAUS) August 10, 2021
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PAX Australia has promised that those who purchased tickets would be getting a full refund, and will be receiving specific information on that process in the next 7-days.
The PAX Aus Team will be working together to make PAX Aus Online a big community event later this year and has said that information on that will be coming sometime soon.
We’ll look forward to seeing you at PAX Australia 2022.
Dylan Blight
[He/Him] Dylan Blight is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Explosion Network, an independent Australian publication covering video games, film, television and pop culture. Since founding Explosion Network in 2017, Dylan has written and produced reviews, news, interviews, features and podcasts across the entertainment industry, while overseeing the publication's editorial direction and content.
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