RuPaul's DragCon — originally scheduled to run this weekend in Los Angeles — has found a way to keep the party alive amid a global coronavirus pandemic.
RuPaul’s Digital DragCon will take place Saturday and Sunday (12 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT) as a YouTube Premiere on series producer World of Wonder's YouTube channel, WOWPresents. The virtual event will feature entertainment, panels, Q&As, performances, shout-outs and more content from the queens made famous on RuPaul's Drag Race.
A long list of stars is scheduled to appear, including Adore Delano, Alaska, Aquaria, August Getty, Blu Hydrangea, Honey Davenport, Jackie Cox, Jake Shears, Karen From Finance, Manila Luzon, Mayhem Miller, Miami Knight, Miz Cracker, Mystique Summers, Nicky Doll, Nicole Paige Brooks, Rebecca Black, Scaredy Kat, Scarlet Envy, Shuga Cain, Sum Ting Wong, Tammie Brown, The Vivienne, Varla Jean Merman, Vinegar Strokes, Widow Von'du, Yuhua Hamasaki and Tony Hale.
The transition to digital is something many event organizers have been forced to make as nonessential business have closed and events have been shuttered to help stop the spread of the novel coronavirus, which has interrupted nearly every aspect of daily life. The pandemic has decimated the economy and sent millions to the unemployment line.
It's been a major hit on DragCon, too. The annual event in New York and L.A., co-produced by RuPaul and World of Wonder, raked in $8 million in 2018 conventions thanks to a combined 100,000 visitors on both coasts.