San Diego Comic-Con will once again be held online this year amid the ongoing problems caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Organisers of the annual event, which celebrates the best of cult TV and film, usually welcome in excess of 130,000 people every year but were forced to move last year's programme online due to the spread of COVID-19.

This year's Comic-Con was due to be held in late July but despite the availability of a vaccine, coronavirus cases and deaths in California remain among the highest in the US.

"While we are buoyed by the rollout of the vaccine and the growing number of individuals being inoculated, it appears that July will still be too early to safely hold an in-person event of the magnitude of Comic-Con," a statement said.

"For this reason, we have made the challenging decision to postpone Comic-Con 2021 as an in-person gathering until our 2022 dates, and once again hold this year's celebration as the free online Comic-Con@Home.

"While we lament the postponement of the in-person Comic-Con, our commitment to this community of fans and our celebration of comics and the related popular arts endures as an important part of who we are."

The organisers added that they plan to hold a smaller in-person event in November.