The ''Star Wars'' Celebration is a fan gathering to celebrate the ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...

'' franchise. It began in 1999, when

Lucasfilm Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC is an American film and television production company and a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is a business segment of The Walt Disney Company. The studio is best known for creating and producing the ''Star Wars'' and ' ...

held the ''Star Wars'' Celebration in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

to celebrate the upcoming release of ''

Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace ''Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace'' is a 1999 American Epic film, epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It stars Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd, Ahmed Best, Ian McDiarmid, Anthony Dan ...

''. Subsequent events have taken place to welcome forthcoming movies, as well as honoring the 30th and 40th anniversaries of the release of the original film.

Overview

Events

Celebration I

The ''Star Wars'' Celebration was held from April 30 – May 2, 1999, at the

Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum The Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum (WOTR) is located on the former Lowry Air Force Base in Denver, Colorado, United States. The museum preserves the history of Lowry AFB's operations from 1938 to 1994 in its collections, archives, and ...

in Denver, Colorado, just three weeks before the release of '' The Phantom Menace''. An event "for the fans, by the fans," the event took place in the hometown of the Official ''Star Wars'' Fan Club, headed by Dan Madsen. "The Fan Club is based here in Denver," says Madsen, "so we thought it would only be appropriate that the Celebration be held here." The first ''Star Wars'' convention since 1987, the Celebration held activities including actor panels,

THX THX Ltd. is an American company that develops the eponymous high fidelity audio/visual reproduction standards for movie theaters, screening rooms, home theaters, computer speakers, gaming consoles, car audio systems, and video games. Founded ...

theater demonstrations, behind the scenes footage from ''Episode I'', and the world premiere of the " Duel of the Fates" music video. The grounds boasted a vendors tent, and the museum hosted an exhibition consisting of props from the official

LucasFilm Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC is an American film and television production company and a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is a business segment of The Walt Disney Company. The studio is best known for creating and producing the ''Star Wars'' and ' ...

archives, including a full-scale model of Anakin Skywalker's podracer and a life-size X-wing model (a 3/4 scale replica made in 1996 for the Special Edition release, and still residing at Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum).

Celebration II

From May 3–5, 2002, Celebration II was held to celebrate the upcoming release of ''

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''. The convention was moved to

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

, to make use of the larger Indiana Convention Center. Downtown Indianapolis was invaded by multitudes of ''Star Wars'' fans. The initial projection of 15–20,000 people per day based on advance ticket sales was well surpassed and reached critical mass on Saturday. The estimated final tally was a little over 75,000 people for the three-day event. The two busiest spots were the Fan Club store and the autograph section, specifically for Carrie Fisher. Highlights of the event included the ''

Rick McCallum Richard McCallum (born August 22, 1954) is an American film producer. He is mostly known for his work on ''The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles'' as well as the '' Star Wars'' Special Editions and prequel trilogy. He is best known for his frequent ...

Spectacular'' and the ''Star Wars'' 25th Anniversary Concert on Saturday night, performed by the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.

Celebration III

The ''Star Wars'' Celebration returned to Indianapolis from April 21–24, 2005, to commemorate the release of what was then thought to be the final film in the saga, ''

Revenge of the Sith Revenge is committing a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. Francis Bacon described revenge as a kind of "wild justice" that "does... offend the law ndputteth the law out of office." Pr ...

''. With over 34,000 fans in attendance over the course of four days, Celebration III brought actor panels, costume contests, fan films, and diorama building to the Indiana Convention Center. The Lucasfilm archive provided many important props and costumes for display. One of this Celebration's most noteworthy events was the unprecedented Q&A session with ''Star Wars'' creator

George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairm ...

, his first such appearance since the ''Star Wars'' 10th Anniversary Convention in 1987. With approximately 10,000 fans in attendance (over the course of 3 half-hour sessions), Lucas personally answered several dozen fans' questions about the saga.

Celebration IV

On May 26, 2006, StarWars.com announced ''Star Wars'' Celebration IV (C4) to be held May 24–28, 2007, to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the

first First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

''Star Wars'' film. C4 was located at the Los Angeles Convention Center in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. Taking place on May 24 through May 28, the convention offered a record number of celebrities in the autograph hall, multiple exhibitors, a ''Star Wars'' art show, a Darth Vader helmet and Lucasfilm archive exhibits and many fan oriented activities. In addition, there were collector and costuming panels, including sneak peeks of the upcoming ''Clone Wars'' animated series. Fans were the first to see the footage of this series on Sunday morning as well. Other highlights included conversations with Carrie Fisher and

Billy Dee Williams William December Williams Jr. (born April 6, 1937) is an American actor. He appeared as Lando Calrissian in the ''Star Wars'' franchise, first in the early 1980s for ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980) and ''Return of the Jedi'' (1983), and thirt ...

, a visit from

Seth MacFarlane Seth Woodbury MacFarlane (; born October 26, 1973) is an American actor, animator, filmmaker, comedian, and singer. He is the creator and star of the television series ''Family Guy'' (since 1999) and ''The Orville'' (since 2017), and co-creator ...

and

Seth Green Seth Benjamin Green ( ''né'' Gesshel-Green; born February 8, 1974) is an American actor, producer, and writer. Green's film debut came with a role in the comedy-drama film ''The Hotel New Hampshire'' (1984), and he went on to have supporting ...

for special ''Star Wars'' episodes of ''

Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show centers around the Griffin family, Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter Griff ...

'' and ''

Robot Chicken ''Robot Chicken'' is an American adult animated stop motion sketch comedy television series, created and executive produced for Adult Swim by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. The writers, ...

'' respectively, and an efficiently organized Celebration Store. An estimated 35,000 people walked through the doors for Celebration IV over the Memorial Day weekend. After the event, Lucasfilm sued the hosting entity, GenCon, for a variety of reasons, forcing GenCon into Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Celebration Europe

On September 25, 2006, StarWars.com announced ''Star Wars'' Celebration Europe (CE) to be held July 13–15, 2007, to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the first ''Star Wars'' film. CE was to be located at Earls Court in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. But on November 22, 2006, StarWars.com announced due to Advance interest in Celebration Europe the event would be moved to the larger venue located at the

ExCeL Exhibition Centre ExCeL London (an abbreviation for Exhibition Centre London) is an exhibition centre, international convention centre and former hospital in the Custom House area of Newham, East London. It is situated on a site on the northern quay of the Roy ...

in London. The event also had on display some of the largest restored ''Star Wars'' Arcade collection, estimated at around 30 to 40 machines, many of them now rarely seen in the USA or in other parts of Europe. An estimated 30,000 people attended this convention.

Celebration Japan

On February 23, 2008, Lucasfilm Ltd. and the Lewis Daniel Group announced a three-day event known as "Celebration Japan", was held at the Makuhari-Messe Convention Center near Tokyo on July 19 to 21. The convention celebrated the 30th anniversary of the June 24, 1978, Japanese premiere of ''Star Wars''. Celebration Japan included live entertainment, ''Star Wars'' celebrities, exclusive merchandise, special presentations, unique ''Star Wars'' exhibits, costume contests, and other activities.

Celebration V

Lucasfilm announced in 2008 that a US-based four-day ''Star Wars'' convention called "Celebration V" would be held in the summer of 2010. In July 2008,

Steve Sansweet Stephen J. Sansweet (born June 14, 1945) is the chairman and president of Rancho Obi-Wan, a nonprofit museum that houses the world's largest collection of '' Star Wars'' memorabilia. Prior to his retirement in April 2011, he was Director of Con ...

, director of content management and head of fan relations for Lucasfilm, announced that

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

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, Indianapolis, Los Angeles,

Anaheim Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...

, and

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

were competing to host this event. Organizers anticipated that 30,000 ''Star Wars'' fans would attend no matter which city was selected. Reed Exhibitions and Lucasfilm announced on December 3, 2009, that Orlando would host the event. Celebration V took place at the Orange County Convention Center from August 12–15, 2010. The convention celebrated the 30th anniversary of the second ''Star Wars'' movie, '' The Empire Strikes Back''. It also included many features of previous Celebrations (such as ''Star Wars'' celebrity appearances, costume contests, and other fan events) as well as a special one-hour interview between Jon Stewart and George Lucas called "The Main Event". Celebration V marked the first American Celebration appearance for

Mark Hamill Mark Richard Hamill (; born September 25, 1951) is an American actor and writer. He is known for his role as Luke Skywalker in the ''Star Wars'' film series, beginning with the original 1977 film and subsequently winning three Saturn Awards f ...

( Luke Skywalker) and the last American appearance for

Caroline Blakiston Caroline Georgiana Blakiston (born 13 February 1933) is an English actress. She is best known in her native United Kingdom for her role in the television comedy series ''Brass'', to international audiences as Mon Mothma in the ''Star Wars'' film ...

(Mon Mothma). Attendance was estimated at 32,000. Lucas also made an appearance at the nearby Disney's Hollywood Studios to take part in the " Last Tour to Endor Event", which provided special entertainment for those individuals who attended "Celebration V".

Celebration VI

StarWarsCelebration.com announced on June 2, 2011, that Celebration VI would be held in Orlando, FL at the Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) from August 16–19, 2012. The date was later changed to August 23–26, 2012. The convention was held in the same hall of the OCCC as was Celebration V, with a very similar format. Several celebrities returned for appearances at this Celebration (including Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and Anthony Daniels), and this event marked the first American Celebration attended by

Ian McDiarmid Ian McDiarmid (; born 11 August 1944) is a Scottish actor and director of stage and screen, best known for portraying the Sith Lord Emperor Sheev Palpatine / Darth Sidious in the ''Star Wars'' multimedia franchise. Making his stage debut in '' ...

. George Lucas had not been scheduled to attend, but made a "surprise" appearance. The event hosted the announcement of ''

Star Wars Detours ''Star Wars Detours'' is an unaired American CGI-animated comedy series. It is differentiated from the other '' Star Wars'' animated series in that it is a parody of the franchise. It offers a comedic take on what happened between the prequel ...

''. Attendance was estimated at 35,000 people.

Celebration Europe II

It was announced at the Closing Ceremonies of Celebration VI (and confirmed on StarWarsCelebration.com) that Celebration Europe II would be held in Essen, Germany, at the Messe Essen fair venue from July 26–28, 2013. Major panels were Kathleen Kennedy inaugural ''Star Wars'' Celebration appearance and the first look at '' Star Wars Rebels''. Over 30,000 people attended the event from 40 different countries. The convention celebrated the 30th anniversary of the third ''Star Wars'' movie, '' Return of The Jedi''.

Celebration Anaheim

Star Wars Celebration 2015 - Jawas & Droids (17833161638)

It was announced at the closing ceremonies of Celebration Europe II that Celebration Anaheim would be held in Anaheim, California, at the

Anaheim Convention Center The Anaheim Convention Center is a major convention center in Anaheim, California and is the largest exhibition facility on the West Coast of the United States. It is located across from the Disneyland Resort on Katella Avenue. The original comp ...

, from April 16–19, 2015, with an anticipated turnout of about 50,000 fans. This event was one of the most anticipated due to the December 2015 release of '' Star Wars: The Force Awakens'' with most news and info on the film being kept secretive prior to the event. The entire celebration was broadcast live online free via www.starwars.com and the ''Star Wars'''

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel. The long-awaited second teaser trailer for the '' Star Wars: The Force Awakens'' premiered on April 16, 2015, during the opening panel of the event which also included many of the stars of the upcoming film, new and old, director

J. J. Abrams Jeffrey Jacob Abrams (born June 27, 1966) is an American filmmaker and composer. He is best known for his works in the genres of action, drama, and science fiction. Abrams wrote and produced such films as ''Regarding Henry'' (1991), '' For ...

along with producer and president of

, Kathleen Kennedy. The following day, fans were treated to the trailer for the upcoming videogame, '' Star Wars: Battlefront'' while on the third day the trailer for the second season of '' Star Wars Rebels'' made its debut. The Celebration closed out its fourth and final day with fans being shown an exclusive teaser trailer for '' Rogue One'', which was released in December 2016. This is the first of two anthology films, which are also known as the stand-alone or origin story films.

Celebration Europe III

It was announced on April 19, 2015, during the closing ceremonies at Celebration Anaheim, that Celebration Europe III would take place July 15–17, 2016, at the ExCel center in London, England. "Jedi Master VIP Tickets" sold out immediately. This was the last ''Star Wars'' Celebration that the original trilogy stars Kenny Baker and Carrie Fisher would attend, due to their passing in mid to late 2016.

Celebration Orlando

It was announced on July 17, 2016, during the closing ceremonies at Celebration Europe III, that Celebration Orlando would take place April 13–16, 2017, in Orlando, Florida. The convention celebrated the 40th Anniversary of '' Star Wars: A New Hope'' and the upcoming film, '' Star Wars: The Last Jedi''. This was the first ''Star Wars'' Celebration that

Harrison Ford Harrison Ford (born July 13, 1942) is an American actor. His films have grossed more than $5.4billion in North America and more than $9.3billion worldwide, making him the seventh-highest-grossing actor in North America. He is the recipient o ...

attended. He made an appearance during the opening panel celebrating the 40 years of ''

'' held on April 13 which also included other stars and people important to the franchise including Kathleen Kennedy (president of

) and a surprise appearance by

and

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who wa ...

with the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, who performed parts of the soundtrack. A special tribute to Carrie Fisher was held by

on Friday, April 14. A teaser trailer of '' Star Wars: The Last Jedi'' premiered on Friday, April 14. On Saturday, April 15 it was announced that season 4 of '' Star Wars Rebels'' will be the last season of the series. The celebration was once again streamed live and free via StarWars.com and the ''Star Wars''

channel.

Celebration Chicago

The thirteenth ''Star Wars'' Celebration was held from April 11–15, 2019 inside

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's McCormick Place. A teaser trailer and title reveal for '' Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker'' occurred on April 12; a franchise mural including art from the upcoming film was also unveiled. A trailer for the upcoming game '' Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order'' was also showcased as well as teaser reels for ''The Clone Wars'' Season 7 and the new

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...

exclusive show, '' The Mandalorian''. It was announced in June 2019 that Celebration Chicago drew an estimated 65,000 fans. Also during ''Star Wars'' Celebration Chicago, Lucasfilm sound editor Matthew Wood teased that there would be a new '' Lego Star Wars Game''.

Celebration Anaheim II

It was announced on April 15, 2019, the last day of Celebration Chicago, that in 2020, the next ''Star Wars'' Celebration will be held for the second time in Anaheim, California. On June 15, 2020, it was announced that the 2020 Celebration had been cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, with the next event scheduled for August 18–21, 2022 at the Anaheim Convention Center. The dates were later updated to May 26–29, 2022.

Celebration Europe IV

It was announced on May 29, 2022, during Celebration Anaheim II, that the next Celebration would be held at the ExCel Centre in London, England over April 7–10, 2023.

References

External links

Official ''Star Wars'' Celebration websiteOfficial ''Star Wars'' Celebration Europe websiteLucasfilm's ''Star Wars'' Celebration website
{{Star Wars Star Wars fandom Recurring events established in 1999 Science fiction conventions in the United States