Summer · Thu 22 to Sun 25 Jul 2027 · Preview Night Wed 21 Jul
Comic-Con 2027 in San Diego.
San Diego's biggest week on one page: the published dates, how the badge sales actually work, where the convention sits in the city, and where to stay for it. The dates below are published by the organiser; the programme is not yet published, and this page says so plainly.
Comic-Con is held at the San Diego Convention Center, on Harbor Drive at the edge of the Gaslamp Quarter, and it takes over the downtown core around it for the week. The organiser is San Diego Comic Convention, a California nonprofit dedicated to awareness of and appreciation for comics and related popular art forms, and its official site, comic-con.org, is the source for the dates and the badge model on this page, checked 1 November 2026.
For 2027 the organiser publishes four days, Thursday 22 to Sunday 25 July, with Preview Night on Wednesday 21 July for badge holders who hold all four days or the combined badge the organiser describes. The 2027 programme, panels and guests are the organiser's to publish closer to the event; they were not yet published when this page was checked.
The 2027 schedule, as published
| Day | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Preview Night | Wed 21 Jul 2027 | Evening preview for eligible badge holders |
| Day one | Thu 22 Jul 2027 | First full day |
| Day two | Fri 23 Jul 2027 | Full day |
| Day three | Sat 24 Jul 2027 | Full day |
| Day four | Sun 25 Jul 2027 | The convention closes on the Sunday |
Badges: how the sale works
There are no tickets in the ordinary sense, and no other seller: the organiser states that badges or badge confirmations sold or provided by anyone other than SDCC will not be honoured. The sequence is the same every year. First, create a Comic-Con Member ID in the organiser's Member ID Portal: everyone who wishes to purchase or register for a badge must hold a valid and confirmed Member ID, and every registration event happens inside that portal.
Attendee badges for 2027 are then sold in two sales in the autumn of 2026: Returning Registration, open only to people who bought a Comic-Con 2026 attendee badge, and Open Registration for the general public, set for Saturday 14 November 2026, with the virtual waiting room opening at 7:30 am PST and the sale beginning at 9:00 am PST. If you are selected for a registration session you can buy for up to three eligible members, yourself included, and you need each person's Member ID and last name exactly as they appear in their account.
Go in clear-eyed: the organiser states that there are more eligible members than badges in both sales, so a Member ID is the entry ticket to the sale, not a promise of a badge. Children who were 12 or younger on 31 July 2026 attend free with a paying adult; juniors aged 13 to 17 need their own Member ID.
Where to stay for Comic-Con
Stay downtown if you can. The convention centre sits at the Gaslamp Quarter's edge, so a Downtown and Gaslamp base puts the halls, the evening programme and the restaurants in walking range, and the Trolley through downtown covers the rest. This is the hardest hotel week of the San Diego year, which is the practical argument for sorting the room early and treating it as part of the badge plan.
The Downtown and Gaslamp hotel area guide
Or search rooms across the city on Trip.com now; the second button is for a stay arranged for you instead, through Maison V, our sister company.
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The hotels page compares all four areas, Coronado, La Jolla and Mission Bay included, for trips that mix the convention with the beach.
The weekly note tracks Comic-Con
One email a week: what is on in San Diego, which tentative dates have just been confirmed, and the weekends worth planning around while rooms are still bookable. Comic-Con programme news lands in the note as the organiser publishes it. Get the note before everyone else: the public page follows a few days later.
The full calendar
Comic-Con sits inside a summer that also carries Pride in the same month and the County Fair at Del Mar just before it. The full calendar carries everything in date order as organisers publish it.
Comic-Con questions, answered
When is Comic-Con in 2027?
Thursday 22 to Sunday 25 July 2027 at the San Diego Convention Center, with Preview Night on Wednesday 21 July. The dates are published by the organiser, San Diego Comic Convention, on comic-con.org. They are confirmed, not tentative.
How do I get a badge?
Badges are sold by the organiser, and only by the organiser: badges or confirmations sold by anyone else are not honoured. Everyone who wants to buy a badge first needs a valid and confirmed Comic-Con Member ID, created free in the Member ID Portal. Attendee badges are then sold in two sales: Returning Registration for the previous year's attendees, then Open Registration for the general public, set for Saturday 14 November 2026. A place in the sale is not a guarantee of a badge: there are more eligible members than badges, and the organiser says so plainly.
Are children free?
Children who were 12 or younger on 31 July 2026 may attend Comic-Con 2027 free with a paying adult, under the organiser's child badge policy. Juniors aged 13 to 17 need their own Member ID to take part in a badge sale.
Where is it held, and where should I stay?
At the San Diego Convention Center on Harbor Drive, at the edge of the Gaslamp Quarter. The Downtown and Gaslamp hotels are the walkable base; the Trolley also runs through downtown, and MTS adds service for major events. Rooms for this week are the most contested of the San Diego year, so the room is part of the badge plan, not an afterthought.
What is not known yet?
The 2027 programme, panel schedule and guest list are published by the organiser closer to the event and were not published when this page was checked. Anything naming 2027 panels or guests today is guessing; this page is updated as the organiser publishes.