Gallifrey One, The Longest-Running Doctor Who Fan Convention, Announces They Will Be Shutting Down For Good
The hits to Doctor Who fandom continue after it’s been rumored Ncuti Gatwa will be leaving the role and the show canceled after its season two. Now, the longest-running Doctor Who fan convention announced it will be winding down and ending.
Doctor Who fans have not had much to look forward to in recent years with the show becoming ever more woke, much to media glee, but with fans tuning out in droves. Ncuti Gatwa’s run on the character has resulted in the lowest rated episodes to date with a new season looming around the corner.
The BBC just bizarrely announced the air date of these new episodes during a rugby match, perplexing fans since the company doesn’t seem to be prioritizing Doctor Who whatsoever. This comes after last year’s debacle when U.K. fans learned for the first time in Doctor Who history, it would be launching in America first on Disney+ before it aired hours later on the BBC.
Now, Gallifrey One, Doctor Who’s longest-running fan convention, announced they will be ending their con in 2028. They posted:
It was with a heavy heart that we announced on February 16, 2025, at the end of this year’s convention Closing Ceremonies, that Gallifrey One will be coming to an end in 2028, after three more events over the next three years. Our February 2028 convention will conclude an unprecedented, sometimes inexplicable and definitely historic 38-year run as the world’s largest and longest-running annual Doctor Who fan event.
Nothing in life lasts forever… but for so many of you who have been with us for years or even decades, it probably felt like the fun would never end. Every year, we hear the same thing: Gally is timeless. Gally is eternal. It’ll be there for us always and forever. Yet it’s very easy to forget that behind every guest, every program item, every photo, every autograph, every vendor, every art show participant, every game, every video, every moment: there is a person. Sometimes the same person. More often, many people. People who care, people who give of their time… some for a weekend a year, some for much longer, and even a few who have dedicated their lives for thirty-six years and counting, our entire run. Volunteers, every one. Gallifrey One is a fully non-profit event. No one has ever benefitted financially from it; not one cent. From our Board of Directors to the volunteers who help us on site, it’s always remained an all-fan, all-volunteer experience. In fact, many of these volunteers don’t even live in Los Angeles; they commute to L.A. (on their own dime) to help us run the show, and that includes a member of our Board of Directors too, who lives all the way in the U.K.
The announcement then speaks of the history since the 1980s when the convention first launched before assuring fans they’re trying to do right by them.
We also gave our fandom three years’ notice. We didn’t want to spring this on all of you at the last minute. Many of our former attendees we know would love to come back again before we’re done. Many others out there who dream of attending one day, now have three years to plan if they want to make it in time. We didn’t have to do it, and we certainly didn’t do it to make any of you panic; this was a gift to our dedicated fan base, so that you know you’re being looked after and don’t need to think about the future… quite yet.
We don’t want the fandom that we’ve engendered here for so long, the friendships and families and memories we’ve shared, to disappear. That is why we are confidently moving forward with our plans.
The announcement later concludes:
Thank you all for your understanding, your support and your belief in Gallifrey One; we won’t let you down the next three years, we will be there with you to begin the next journey… and we hope you’ll always treasure all the moments that made Gallifrey One special for you.
With such a long-standing part of fandom disappearing, even if it is three years away, one can see the writing on the wall that the Doctor Who brand is in trouble and unable to sustain itself.
When will the BBC admit their error with Russell T. Davies and Ncuti Gatwa on Doctor Who? Leave a comment and let us know your thoughts.
For a great novel series with classic Star Trek feel, with sci-fi spy thriller action, read The Stars Entwined on Amazon!
The 3yr heads-up is a nice touch, permitting the con to complete their contractual obligations while also giving attendees and those wanting to a chance.
Well, if Doctor Who is becoming a perverts dream and a rainbow brigade disaster, I wouldn't go to a convention where pedophiles would congregate. So it's best it die.