Star Wars Celebration

• 1. Origins

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  Star Wars Celebration first opened at the Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum in Denver, Colorado, on the 30th of April 1999. The event had a practical reason for landing in Denver. The Official Star Wars Fan Club was headquartered there, led by Dan Madsen. "The Fan Club is based here in Denver," Madsen said, "so we thought it would only be appropriate that the Celebration be held here." Organizers described the gathering as "for the fans, by the fans." It opened just three weeks before Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace reached theaters.

  No comparable Star Wars convention had taken place since 1987. Lucasfilm filled that twelve-year gap with actor panels, THX theater demonstrations, and the world premiere of the "Duel of the Fates" music video. The museum floor held archive props including a full-scale model of Anakin Skywalker's podracer and a three-quarter-scale X-wing replica built in 1996. Over 20,000 fans attended.

  In the years that followed, the event would travel to Indianapolis, Los Angeles, London, Essen, Chicago, and Tokyo. Denver was just the start. Which of those stops would change what Celebration could be, and who would make it matter?

• 2. Stars and Their Firsts

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  George Lucas had not engaged in a public Q&A with fans since the Star Wars 10th Anniversary Convention in 1987. He ended that eighteen-year silence at Celebration III in Indianapolis in April 2005. Approximately 10,000 fans attended his session across three half-hour slots. Lucas personally answered several dozen questions about the saga.

  Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker throughout the original trilogy, had never appeared at an American Celebration before Celebration V. That 2010 event in Orlando was his first. A headline attraction at the same convention was a one-hour interview between Jon Stewart and George Lucas, billed as "The Main Event." The gathering was also the final American Celebration appearance for Caroline Blakiston, who had played Mon Mothma in Return of the Jedi.

  Ian McDiarmid attended his first American Celebration at Celebration VI in 2012. George Lucas had not been scheduled that year, yet arrived for a surprise appearance. Celebration Orlando 2017, held from April 13-16, added Harrison Ford to the roster for the first time. He joined the opening panel on April 13, alongside stars and figures central to the franchise. Composer John Williams also appeared that weekend, performing parts of the score with the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra.

  On the 14th of April 2017, Mark Hamill delivered a personal tribute to Carrie Fisher, who had died in 2016. Fisher had been one of the central draws at Celebration II in 2002. The autograph section she anchored was cited as one of the event's two busiest spots. The 70,000 fans at Orlando 2017 also learned that season four of Star Wars Rebels would be the final season of the series.

• 3. Trailers and First Looks

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  On the 16th of April 2015, the second teaser trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens premiered at Celebration Anaheim. It was shown to a live audience at the opening panel, with director J.J. Abrams and Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy on stage alongside new and returning cast members. The entire event was broadcast live and free via StarWars.com and the Star Wars YouTube channel. The second day brought the trailer for the Star Wars: Battlefront videogame. On the third day, the season-two trailer for Star Wars Rebels debuted. On the fourth and final day, fans were shown an exclusive teaser for the anthology film Rogue One.

  Celebration Chicago 2019, held from April 11-15 at McCormick Place, continued the tradition. On April 12, Lucasfilm unveiled both the teaser trailer and the official title for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. The same five-day program brought the debut trailer for Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. Teaser reels for The Clone Wars Season 7 and first footage of The Mandalorian on Disney+ were also shown. Lucasfilm sound editor Matthew Wood stepped on stage to tease that a new Lego Star Wars game was in development.

  At Celebration Europe 2023 in London, three new Star Wars films were publicly announced after a period without theatrical releases. One project centered on Daisy Ridley returning as Rey, set fifteen years after the events of The Rise of Skywalker. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny was also promoted at the event. A limited theatrical rerelease of Return of the Jedi was announced, running from April 28-May 4 in the United States. At Celebration Japan 2025, on the event's first day, Shawn Levy's film Star Wars: Starfighter was announced with Ryan Gosling set to star.

• 4. Going Global

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  StarWars.com announced on the 25th of September 2006, that a Star Wars Celebration would be held outside the United States for the first time. The event, Celebration Europe, was planned for London in July 2007. Advance interest was strong enough to force a venue change. On the 22nd of November 2006, organizers moved the event from the planned Earls Court location to the larger ExCeL Exhibition Centre. About 30,000 people attended the three days. One distinctive feature was a collection of restored Star Wars arcade machines, estimated at between 30 and 40 units. Many of those machines were rarely seen in the United States or elsewhere in Europe.

  The second European edition moved to Essen, Germany, at the Messe Essen fair venue, for three days in July 2013. More than 20,000 people attended from 40 different countries. It was the first Celebration held after Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm. Kathleen Kennedy made her inaugural Celebration appearance there, and attendees received their first look at the animated series Star Wars Rebels.

  Japan joined the Celebration circuit in July 2008, at the Makuhari Messe Convention Center near Tokyo. The event commemorated the 30th anniversary of the Japanese theatrical premiere of the original Star Wars, which had opened in Japan on the 24th of June 1978. Celebration returned to Japan in April 2025, again at Makuhari Messe, and drew over 105,000 attendees, the highest recorded turnout in the event's history.

• 5. Disruptions and Gaps

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  Celebration IV ended in May 2007 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. After the event, Lucasfilm filed a lawsuit against GenCon, the entity that had organized it, citing a variety of reasons. GenCon subsequently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. That outcome effectively ended GenCon's role in staging the convention.

  On the 15th of April 2019, the final day of Celebration Chicago, Lucasfilm announced that the next American event would return to Anaheim in 2020. On the 15th of June 2020, that plan was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The rescheduled event was initially moved to August 2022, then shifted earlier. It ultimately ran from May 26-29, 2022, again at the Anaheim Convention Center.

  During the closing ceremony of Celebration Europe 2023, organizers announced that no event would take place in 2024. At the closing ceremony of Celebration Japan 2025 on April 20, a similar announcement was made: there would be no event in 2026. The next Celebration will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center from April 1-4, 2027. That same venue hosted Celebration IV in 2007, which marked the franchise's 30th anniversary. Twenty years on, Los Angeles will welcome the event back for the franchise's 50th anniversary.